,,,.,.  ,1  *  «""'»*»  ^.^^ 


PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


Shelf 


BV  2060  .P6  1886b  c.l 
Pierson,  Arthur  T.  1837 

1911. 
The  crisis  of  missions 


1 


THE 


ri0i0  of  Hissions: 


OR, 


THE  VOICE  OUT  OF  THE  CLOUD, 


BY 


REV.  ARTHUR  T.    PIERSON,  D.D., 

author  of 

'thb  gospel  flooding  the  world,"  "the  progress  of  missions, 

"  many  infallible  proofs,"  etc. 


NEW   YORK: 

ROBERT  CARTER  AND   BROTHERS, 
530  Broadway. 


Copyright^  z88b, 
By  Robert  Carter  and  Brothers. 


John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge. 


TO 


THE  BELOVED  PARTNER  OF  MY  LIFE, 

WHO   HAS   BEEN   NOT   ONLY  THE   ENCOURAGEMENT, 

BUT    THE    INSPIRATION,    OF    MY    RESEARCHES    IN    THE    FIELD 

OF    MISSIONS, 

AND    HAS    INTIMATELY    SHARED    IN    ALL    MY    PRAYERS 

AND  LABORS   FOR  THE  WORLD-WIDE  HARVEST, 


Eijis  l^aak  is  Ittscrikil* 


^- 


■^    JAN    .  ■  ]!} 
%., ' 


A   WORD    PRELIMINARY. 


F  in  this  little  book  any  good  is 
found,  it  is,  like  most  good  things, 
a  growth ;  it  has  come  by  a  process 
of  development  in  personal  study  and  pasto- 
ral service. 

The  little  interest  at  first  felt  by  the  writer 
in  remote  missions  in  regions  beyond  has 
steadily  and  rapidly  grown.  The  logic  of 
the  Scripture  argument  for  a  world-wide 
evangelism  is  itself  overwhelming;  but  vari- 
ous side-arguments  and  considerations  em- 
phasize and  enforce  the  scriptural;  and  the 
logic  of  events  adds  its  mighty  demonstration, 
that  the  pillar  of  God  still  moves  before  His 
people.  Under  the  combined  influence  of 
such  an  array  of  proof  from  Scripture,  from 
history,  and  from  experience,  that  the  spirit 
of  missions  is  the  spirit  of  Christ,  the  whole 


6  A    WORD  PRELIMINARY. 

mind  and  heart  of  a  true  disciple  burn  with 
conviction  and  glow  with  enthusiasm  in  the 
direction  of  the  work  of  witnessing  to  a  lost 
world. 

Facts  are  the  fingers  of  God.  To  know 
the  facts  of  modern  missions  is  the  necessary- 
condition  of  intelligent  interest.  Knowledge 
does  not  always  kindle  zeal,  but  zeal  is  **  ac- 
cording to  knowledge,"  and  will  not  exist 
without  it.  A  fire  may  be  fanned  with  wind, 
but  it  must  be  fed  with  fuel ;  and  facts  are  the 
fuel  of  this  sacred  flame,  to  be  gathered,  then 
kindled,  by  God's  Spirit,  and  then  scattered 
as  burning  brands,  to  be  as  live  coals  else- 
where. In  vain  shall  we  look  for  an  absorb- 
ing, engrossing  passion  for  the  prompt  and 
universal  spread  of  gospel  tidings,  for  full 
missionary  treasuries  or  full  missionary  ranks, 
unless  and  until  the  individual  believer  is 
brought  face  to  face  with  those  grand  facts 
which  make  the  march  of  modern  missions 
the  marvel  and  miracle  of  these  latter  days ! 

To  outline  these  facts  is  the  simple,  humble 
aim  of  this  book,  purposely  compressed  into 


A    WORD  PRELIMINARY.  7 

a  narrow  compass,  to  catch  the  hasty  glance 
of  these  busy  times.  So  fast  is  the  pace  of 
missions,  that,  while  we  write  the  record,  a 
new  statement  becomes  needful ;  and  so  wide 
is  the  field,  that  a  lifetime  is  scarcely  adequate 
to  its  proper  investigation.  Whatever  imper- 
fections and  inaccuracies  appear,  the  indul- 
gent reader  will  not  forget  that  these  pages 
have  been  written,  only  in  the  intervals  of 
pastoral  work,  in  a  field  where  the  exacting 
labors  of  pulpit  and  parish  leave  the  pastor 
little  leisure  as  an  author. 

The  writer,  himself  deeply  conscious  of  the 
defects  of  his  work,  serrds  it  forth  on  its 
errand,  praying  that  in  some  small  measure 
it  may  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make 
His  paths  straight,  lift  up  a  standard  for  the 
people,  or  at  least  gather  out  the  stones. 

ARTHUR  T.   PIERSON. 

2320  Spruce  Street,  Philadelphia, 
July,  1886. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

PAGB 

I. 

The  Precept  and  the  Promise.    .    .      ii 

II. 

Providential  Signals     .     .     . 

.      i8    ^ 

.           III. 

Removal  of  Barriers     .    .    . 

•      29   ^ 

IV. 

The  Moving  of  the  Pillar    . 

37 

V. 

The  Opening  of  Doors:  India 

43 

VI. 

East  Indian  Missions     .    .    . 

•      53 

VII. 

Burmah  and  the  Karens  .    . 

66 

VIII. 

The  Open  Door  in  Siam    .    . 

73 

IX. 

The  Walled  Kingdom    .    .    . 

80 

X. 

Protestant  Missions  in  China 

88 

XI. 

Japan,  the  Sunrise  Kingdom 

95 

XII. 

Korea,  the  Hermit  Nation   . 

1 06 

XIII. 

The  Ottoman  Empire     .    .    . 

"3 

XIV. 

The  Dark  Continent      .    .    . 

123 

XV. 

Papal  Lands 

^33 
140 

XVI. 

Mexico,  Land  of  the  Aztecs 

XVII. 

South  American  States     .    . 

148 

XVIII. 

The  Subsidence  of  Obstacles    . 

156 

XIX. 

Woman's  Work  for  Woman  . 

169 

XX. 

The  Preparation  of  the  Churc 

H 

184 

10 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  PAGB 

XXI.  The  White  Harvest  Fields  ....  193 

XXII.    The  Gracious  Signs 201 

XXIII.  The  Transformations  of  Grace     .    .  211  / 

XXIV.  The  Products  of  God's  Husbandry  .  224 
XXV.  The  Isles  waiting  for  His  Law    .    .  239 

XXVI.  God's  Seal  on  the  Workmen     ...  252 

XXVII.    The  Aspect  and  Prospect 262 

XXVIII.  The  Elements  in  the  Crisis    ^^   .    .  273 

XXIX.    The  Unheeded  Signals 281 

XXX.  The  Leaven  of  a  New  Theology.    .  291 

XXXI.    The  Spirit  of  Missions 300 

XXXII.    The  Living  Links 311 

XXXIII.  The  Problem  of  Missions 321 

XXXIV.  The  Laborers  are  few  ......  330 

XXXV.    Meeting  the  Crisis 343 

XXXVI.  A  World's  Missionary  Council     .    .  355 

A  Word  Supplementary 365 


THE    CRISIS    OF   MISSIONS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  PRECEPT  AND  THE  PROMISE, 

HE  argument  and  the  appeal  in  be- 
half of  missions  are  unsurpassed  for 
variety  and  cogency. 
First  of  all,  there  is  the  imperative  voice 
of  duty.  The  very  watchword  of  the  Chris- 
tian life  is  obedience,  and  our  great  Captain 
has  left  us  His  marching  orders  :  ^^  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature."  Such  a  plain  command  makes 
all  other  motives  comparatively  unnecessary. 
"Whatsoever  He  saith  unto  you,  do  it." 
Where  there  has  been  given  a  clear,  divine 
word  of  authority,  immediate,  implicit  sub- 
mission and  compliance  will  be  yielded  by 
every  loyal,  loving  disciple.      Even  to  hesi- 


12  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

tatCj  for  the  sake  of  asking  a  reason,  savors 
of  the  essence  of  rebeUion. 

When  our  great  Commander  left  us  this 
last  precept,  however,  He  annexed  to  it  a 
most  inspiring  promise :  *'  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 
That  promise  has  been  conspicuously  and 
marvellously  fulfilled  in  connection  with  mis- 
sions; for  Christ  has  been  with  us,  both  by 
His  providence  and  by  His  grace.  The  ar- 
gument and  appeal,  found  in  this  providential 
and  gracious  presence,  have  not  been  prop- 
erly considered  and  appreciated ;  and  we  pur- 
pose to  m.ake  them  more  emphatic  by  a 
rapid  glance  at  the  more  important  facts  of 
modern  missionary  history. 

We  shall  aim  to  show,  for  example,  that 
the  providence  of  God  is  especially  apparent 
in  missions,  in  the  opening  of  doors,  great 
and  effectual;  in  the  removal  or  subsidence 
of  barriers ;  in  the  preparation  of  the  field 
and  the  workmen ;  in  the  provision  and  pro- 
tection of  the  laborers ;  and  in  the  revealing 
and  unfolding  to  the  Church  of  His  set  times, 


THE  PRECEPT  AND    THE  PROMISE.  1 3 

seasons,  and  measures  for  securing  new  ad- 
vance and  success.  Such  divine  providence 
becomes  to  God's  people  a  glorious  and  in- 
spiring signal  both  that  He  is  always  with 
them,  and  that  His  pleasure  shall  prosper  in 
their  hands. 

The  grace  of  God  appears  in  missions, 
especially  in  working  mighty  results  and  ef- 
fects, such  as  are  plainly  attributable  only  to 
the  Divine  Spirit.  These  results  are  wrought 
not  only  in  individuals,  but  sometimes  in 
whole  communities ;  there  are  some  transfor- 
mations that  deserve  to  be  called  trans- 
figurations. In  the  workmen,  also,  whose 
consecration  to  such  heroic  labors  develops 
in  them  an  exalted  type  of  piety,  and  even 
in  those  who  earnestly  pray  and  liberally 
give  for  the  support  of  the  work,  similar  un- 
mistakable fruits  of  this  grace  appear  and 
abound. 

To  these  somewhat  neglected  arguments 
\t.  fr.'-'-r  of  the  work  of  missions  it  is  well  to 
turn  our  attention :  for  these  providential 
signals  and  these  gracious  signs,  being  once 


14  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

truly  recognized  and  realized,  make  duty  a 
delight;  the  work  of  missions  becomes  no 
longer  the  cold  necessity  of  obedience,  but 
the  most  inspiring,  enrapturing  privilege. 
Only  some  such  exalted  conception  of  this 
last  commission,  and  of  the  supreme  blessed- 
ness of  a  loving  fidelity  to  our  stewardship 
in  the  gospel,  can  lift  the  church  of  God  to  a 
higher  plane  of  praying  and  giving.  Better 
than  the  conscience  that  drives,  is  the  love 
that  draws,  to  the  work  of  missions.  Once 
brought  to  the  white-heat  of  passion  for 
souls,  we  are  henceforth  ''  weary  with  forbear- 
ing, and  cannot  stay"  in  apathetic  idleness 
and  silence :  the  inward  fire  must  have  vent. 
It  is  no  longer  hard  to  give,  but  hard  to  with- 
hold ;  and,  better  than  the  most  princely  gifts 
of  money,  we  shall  give  ourselves,  a  living 
sacrifice. 

These  two  classes  of  facts,  then,  will  com- 
mand our  attention  :  the  providential  opening 
of  doors,  and  removal  or  subsidence  of  obsta- 
cles and  barriers;  and  the  gracious  manifes- 
tations of  transforming  power  in  individuals 


THE  PRECEPT  AND   THE  PROMISE.  1 5 

and  communities  in  heathen  lands  abroad, 
and  of  reforming  power  in  our  church  hfe  at 
home. 

Before  entering  into  details,  one  startling 
and  comprehensive  fact  should  be  clearly- 
kept  before  us,  —  that  all  the  stupendous 
movements  and  changes  which  we  have  to  re- 
cord, or  refer  to,  have  taken  place  within  less 
than  a  century!  Not  until  1892  will  the  first 
hundred  years  have  rolled  around  since,  in 
that  humble  cottage  of  the  Widow  Wallis  at 
Kettering,  t\velve  Baptist  ministers  formed 
the  pioneer  English  "  Society  for  Propagating 
the  Gospel  among  the  Heathen."  "  Attempt- 
ing great  things  for  God,  and  expecting  great 
things  from  God,"  they  laid  on  His  altar 
thirteen  pounds,  two  shillings  and  sixpence, 
as  their  first  offering  for  missions,  covenant- 
ing together  to  undertake  to  spread  the  gos- 
pel among  the  heathen. 

Within  that  yet  uncompleted  century  what 
astounding  changes  have  taken  place  !  That 
bugle-call  of  William  Carey  has  raUied  all 
Christendom.      God    has    opened    the    two- 


1 6  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

leaved  gates,  until  the  last  of  the  hermit 
nations  unbars  the  doors  of  exclusion  and 
seclusion  and  welcomes  to  her  ports  the 
messenger  of  Christ.  Even  the  most  en- 
thusiastic student  of  missions  fails  to  appre- 
hend and  appreciate  the  grandeur  of  such 
colossal  movements.  Wonderful,  indeed,  that 
a  hundred  open  doors,  great  and  effectual, 
God  should  set  before  His  Church;  but 
more  wonderful  the  ways  in  which,  by  keys 
of  His  own.  He  has  unlocked  the  gates  of 
hermit  nations.  And  the  rapidity  of  these 
changes  is  supernatural.  When,  in  1792, 
that  pious  cobbler  of  Paulerspury  led  in  the 
formation  of  that  first  British  society,  and 
when,  in  1793,  he  himself  went  forth  as  the 
first  foreign  missionary  from  English  shores, 
the  whole  world  was  comparatively  locked 
against  missionary  enterprise;  there  was 
scarce  one  real  opening  into  pagan,  papal,  or 
Moslem  lands  to  preach  the  gospel  in  its 
purity  or  win  converts,  without  molestation 
and  persecution  both  to  the  missionary  and 
the  convert.     Now  the  whole  aspect  of  the 


THE  PRECEPT  AND   THE  PROMISE.  1/ 

world  is  changed,  and  there  is  scarce  one 
closed  door,  or  community  where  the  preacher 
may  not  go  with  the  open  Bible,  or  where 
the  convert  may  not,  in  publicly  confessing 
allegiance  to  Jesus,  claim  the  protection  of 
law.  And  yet  these  are  but  a  part  of  the 
changes  which  make  this  nineteenth  century 
the  most  conspicuous  in  history  for  the  prog- 
ress of  missions.  To  appreciate  this,  we 
must  enter  somewhat  into  details. 


CHAPTER  IL 

PROVIDENTIAL  SIGNALS. 

OD'S  ancient  Israel  were  led  by  a 
pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire.  It  was 
dark,  yet  light ;  mysterious,  yet  lu- 
minous ;  obscure,  yet  glorious ;  instinct  with 
divine  intelligence,  vocal  with  divine  utter- 
ance. It  was  the  symbol  and  signal  of 
omnipresence,  omniscience,  omnipotence  ; 
the  hiding  of  God's  presence  and  power. 
Wherever  that  pillar  moved  or  rested.  His 
people  were  to  follow  or  halt;  and  to  move 
in  its  sacred  shadow  was  to  be  guided  by 
His  wisdom,  guarded  by  His  power,  and 
shielded  by  His  protection.  Before  it  the 
Red  Sea  and  the  Jordan  opened  a  path  in 
the  midst  of  their  waves,  and  Jericho's  walls 
fell  down ;  before  it  no  obstacle  could  stand, 
no  foe  prevail;  and  happy  were   they  who, 


PROVIDENTIAL  SIGNALS.  19 

watching  that  pillar,  were  always  ready  to 
obey  its  signal. 

That  pillar  was  a  visible  symbol  of  the 
providence  of  God,  which  through  all  the 
ages  remains,  to  His  people,  the  perpetual 
signal  of  His  presence,  power,  and  pleasure. 
We  are  to  watch  that  pillar  of  Providence, 
march  when  and  where  it  moves,  and  halt 
when  and  where  it  rests.  In  other  words, 
though  no  longer  accompanied  by  a  visible 
sign  or  signal,  to  the  attentive  observer  God 
is  in  history. 

The  Book  of  Esther  seems  to  be  placed  in 
the  canon  of  Scripture  as  a  marvellous  ex- 
hibition and  illustration  of  God's  providence, 
—  that  unseen  power  back  of  human  affairs, 
distributing  the  ultimate  awards  to  evil  and 
to  good,  and  by  its  mystic  shuttle  weaving 
even  the  minutest  thread  of  events  into  the 
fabric  of  God's  design.  Some,  it  is  true, 
would  banish  this  Book  of  Esther  from  the 
canon,  because  in  it  the  7iame  of  God  does 
not  appear ;  but  there  may  be  a  significance 
in  this  fact,  for  it  is  a  hidden  hand  that  shifts 


20  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

the  scenery,  and  thrusts  the  actors  on  and 
off  the  historic  stage.  This  Book  of  Esther 
is  the  rose-window  in  the  Old  Testament 
cathedral,  transmitting,  as  through  stained 
glass,  a  light,  dim,  perhaps,  but  rich  with 
divine  hues ;  and  by  that  dim  light  drawing 
attention  to  the  exquisite  tracery  upon  its 
framework  and  the  symbolic  design  of  its 
tinted  panes. 

So  God  is  not  less  in  historic  events  be- 
cause the  visible  signal  is  now  withdrawn. 
The  eye  of  faith  detects  His  prevision,  pro- 
vision, presidence,  all  along  the  line  of  the 
march  of  the  ages.  The  devout  disciple  be- 
holds still  the  moving  pillar,  and  it  is  to  him 
the  perpetual  demonstration  of  the  existence 
of  God  and  His  interest  in  human  affairs, 
and  the  perpetual  inspiration  to  a  life  of 
self-sacrifice  in  holy  endeavor  and  heroic  en- 
durance. 

The  argument  from  Providence  is  espe- 
cially needed  in  this  materialistic  age.  The 
prevailing  ignorance  and  indifference  mani- 
fested in  the  church  of  God  toward  missions 


PROVIDENTIAL  SIGNALS,  21 

prove  that  even  nominal  disciples  are  in  dan- 
ger of  drifting  into  practical  atheism.  There 
cannot  be  a  quick  sense  of  God's  being 
while  there  is  so  slow  a  sense  of  obligation 
and  of  privilege  in  respect  to  carrying  out 
our  Lord's  last  command  and  commission. 
Our  first  need  is  to  know  and  feel  that  God 
is,  and  is  the  all-pervading,  all-controlling 
factor  in  human  history. 

The  main  value  of  a  careful  study  of 
modern  missions  is  perhaps  to  be  found  in 
the  unanswerable  argument  which  it  pre- 
sents for  God's  existence  and  providence; 
and  hence  out  of  all  those  considerations, 
which  blend  in  one  mighty  plea  for  the 
immediate  evangelization  of  the  world,  we 
put  this  among  the  foremost.  The  logic  of 
events  demonstrates  that  the  promise,  **  Lo, 
I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end 
of  the  world,"  is  specially  and  gloriously  ful- 
filled to  those  who  "  go  into  all  the  world  " 
to  "  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature." 
All  the  shallow  pretexts  for  our  neglect  and 
selfishness,   our   meagre    offerings    and    few 


22  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

laborers,  are  shamed  into  silence  when  our 
opened  eyes  behold  in  the  history  of  mis- 
sions itself  a  burning  bush  whose  every  leaf 
and  twig  are  aflame  with  the  presence  of 
Jehovah. 

It  has  been  already  hinted  that  a  blessed 
inspiration  is  furnished  to  the  workman  in 
the  mission  field  by  this  faith  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  and  this  consciousness  of  the 
divine  presence.  Prince  Albert  used  to  say 
to  young  men,  *'  Find  out  God's  plan  in 
your  generation,  and  then  beware  lest  you 
cross  it;  but  fall  promptly  into  your  own 
place  in  that  plan."  Dr.  Anderson  declared, 
as  the  result  of  many  years'  experience  as 
missionary  secretary,  that  "  the  great  defect 
of  the  age  is,  that  it  does  not  respond  as  it 
should  to  the  providence  of  God." 

What  guilt  and  folly  characterizes  him 
who  wilfully,  or  even  carelessly,  crosses 
God's  plan !  What  heroism  and  martyrdom 
must  be  inspired  by  the  serene  confidence 
and  consciousness  that  one  is  watching  God's 
pillar  and  moving  with  it!     The   true  mis- 


PROVIDENTIAL  SIGNALS.  23 

sionary  must  be  heroic:  he  sees  the  pillar 
of  Providence;  across  its  white  column  he 
reads  in  Shekinah  fires,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
ahvay,"  and  he  knows  that  such  a  promise 
yokes  divine  omnipotence  to  human  impo- 
tence; it  means  the  removal  of  hinderances 
and  the  surmounting  of  obstacles  broad  as 
continents,  high  as  the  Himalayas;  and  he 
moves  forward,  fearless  and  faithful,  facing 
foes  as  formidable  as  the  giant  Anakim  with 
their  chariots  of  iron. 

But  this  matter  concerns  not  only  the  mis- 
sionary. Every  disciple  both  may  and  should 
understand  God's  plan  for  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  this  world.  That  plan  is  revealed  in 
prophecy  in  unmistakable  terms,  and  a  close 
study  of  these  inspired  predictions  will  show 
not  only  the  general  outlines,  but  many 
particulars,  of  that  plan.  More  than  this, 
history  is  progressively  unfolding,  confirm- 
ing, fulfilling  prophecy.  Current  events  are 
God's  own  commentary  on  his  Word,  and 
only  open  eyes  and  a  docile  mind  are  neces- 
sary in  order  to  read  and   interpret  them. 


24  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

The  knowledge  of  the  Lord  is  covering  the 
earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  The  stone 
cut  out  without  hands  has  been  growing  for 
centuries,  and  is  to-day  filHng  the  whole 
earth.  That  such  predictions  have  a  fulfil- 
ment on  a  much  grander  scale  we  do  not 
doubt;  but  Christian  history  is  full  of  an- 
ticipations and  foretastes  of  the  final  con- 
summation. Take  a  wide  survey  of  the 
world  to-day.  ^o  figure  so  colossal  as  that 
of  the  person  of  Christ  can  be  seen  through 
all  the  centuries,  —  even  distance  does  not 
diminish  its  proportions  or  dim  its  glory. 
No  book  so  colossal  in  its  grandeur  ever 
challenged  the  admiration  of  even  the  wisest 
and  best  of  men,  as  the  Bible.  John  of  the 
Golden  Mouth  gave  it  its  name,  "'O  Bt^Xo?," 
The  Book,  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years 
ago ;  and  the  whole  world  echoes  the  name. 
No  fact  so  colossal  as  Christianity  has  ever 
attracted  the  wondering  gaze  of  men ;  it  fills 
the  world's  whole  horizon  to-day.  The  fore- 
most nations  of  the  earth  are  not  only  Chris- 
tian, but  Protestant,  and  they  have  their  grip 


PROVIDENTIAL  SIGNALS.  25 

upon  the  leading  nations  of  the  rest  of  the 
world.  Prussia,  England,  and  the  United 
States  hold  the  sceptres  that  at  this  hour 
sway  the  destinies  of  both  hemispheres. 

It  behooves  all  disciples  to  awake  and  bestir 
themselves.  God's  eternal  purpose  concern- 
ing this  world  should  be  so  engraven  on  our 
minds  and  hearts,  that  no  doubt  can  ever 
arise  as  to  the  fact  and  nature  of  His  plan, 
the  destiny  of  the  gospel,  or  as  to  our  duty. 
Events  are  moving  at  such  a  pace  that  only 
the  active  disciple  can  keep  up  with  them. 
This  subject  has  a  special  interest  to  us  of 
this  generation,  for  we  are  living  in  the  grand 
missionary  age  of  history.  Before  the  dawn 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  Protestant  missions 
were  so  rare,  limited,  exceptional,  as  to  form 
no  marked  feature  of  church  life.  In  the 
apostolic  age,  the  new  faith  ran  on  swift 
foot  to  the  limits  of  the  Roman  Empire;  in 
the  mediaeval  age,  the  rays  of  gospel  light 
touched  here  and  there  a  rude  and  barbarous 
people,  fringing  with  silver  edges  the  dark, 
black  clouds  of  paganism.     But  this  is  the 


26  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

epoch  of  world-wide  missions.  Since  this 
century  began,  a  golden  net-work,  ghstening 
with  heavenly  dews,  has  been  extending  from 
the  great  centres  of  Christendom,  with  lines 
radiating  in  every  direction,  and  cross-lines 
connecting,  until  the  great  globe  itself  is 
girdled  and  enclosed ;  the  most  distant  and 
destitute  will  speedily  be  reached  by  God's 
evangel,  and  no  land  be  left  to  the  dominion 
of  the  death-shade.  Theodore  Christlieb  at- 
tempted a  "  survey  of  Protestant  missions." 
Awed  by  the  greatness  and  grandeur  of  the 
theme,  he  was  as  one  who  from  a  balloon 
seeks  to  command  a  general  view  of  an  army 
so  vast  that  no  one  horizon  bounds  it,  be- 
cause its  lines  reach  round  the  world.  What 
true  soldier  of  Christ  can  be  indifferent  to 
the  issues  of  such  a  campaign? 

Again,  this  subject  has  a  special  interest 
to  us  of  this  generation,  because  changes 
more  rapid  and  radical  and  revolutionary 
than  in  any  preceding  age  are  taking  place 
before  our  very  eyes.  God  is  moving  with 
great  strides  in  His  march  toward  the  final 


PROVIDENTIAL   SIGNALS.  2/ 

goal.  The  gospel  flood  is  fast  rising  toward  a 
flood-mark  higher  than  has  ever  been  reached. 
The  fulness  of  time  has  come,  and  the  end 
seems  at  hand,  which  is  also  the  beginning  of 
the  last  and  greatest  age.  God  is  specially 
working,  and  loudly  calling  His  people  to 
closer  fellowship  and  more  diligent  co-opera- 
tion. Such  facts  mark  and  make  the  crisis 
of  missions.  Now  or  never !  To-morrow 
will  be  too  late  for  work  that  must  be  done 
to-day.  The  time  and  the  tide  will  not  wait. 
He  who  lags  behind  will  be  left  behind. 
Every  day  will  make  or  mar  the  future  of 
great  peoples. 

''The  field  is  the  world;"  there  are  there- 
fore not  only  many  different  points  of  pros- 
pect, but  every  part  of  the  wide  field  has  its 
own  horizon.  The  march  of  the  Lord  is 
through  the  ages  and  around  the  world ; 
everywhere  the  line  of  His  march  is  radi- 
ant, like  the  milky  way,  with  the  marks  of 
His  golden  footsteps,  for  the  place  of  His 
feet  is  ever  glorious.  Where,  in  the  treat- 
ment of  such  a  theme,  shall  we  begin  or  end? 


28  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

For  brevity  of  statement  and  unity  of  im- 
pression we  select  only  the  more  conspicuous 
proofs  of  divine  interposition,  gleaning,  like 
Ruth,  a  few  handfuls  from  a  vast  and  varied 
harvest  field. 


CHAPTER  III. 

REMOVAL   OF  BARRIERS. 

^HEN  this  century  was  at  its  dawn,  ten 
great  barriers,  to  human  view  insur- 
mountable, interposed  between  the 
Church  and  the  fulfilment  of  the  Lord's 
command.  We  may  group  them  into  four 
classes. 

I .  Obstacles  to  approach.  There  was  little 
or  no  access  to  the  great  nations  of  the  hea- 
then world.  China  was  walled  about,  Japan's 
ports  sealed,  India  held  by  an  English  power 
hostile  to  missions,  Africa  impenetrable  even 
to  the  explorer,  and  the  isles  of  the  sea 
crowded  with  cannibals  more  to  be  dreaded 
than  the  devouring  waves  of  the  angry  ocean. 
In  the  Moslem  world  blind  bigotry,  as  with 
the  iron  flail  of  Talus,  crushed  all  freedom  of 
speech  or  thought,  and  hung  the  death  pen- 


30  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

alty  like  the  sword  of  Damocles  over  the 
head  of  every  follower  of  the  Prophet  who 
even  looked  away  from  the  crescent  to  the 
cross.  In  the  papal  world  a  nominal  Chris- 
tianity, intolerant  of  all  evangelical  creeds, 
forbade  even  the  circulation  of  the  Bible; 
there  was  less  hope  of, proper  missionary 
work  among  Roman  Catholics  than  among 
Polynesian  cannibals.  Travellers  could  not 
visit  the  Eternal  City  without  leaving  their 
Bibles  outside  the  gates,  within  which  no 
Protestant  chapel  was  tolerated.  The  Wal- 
denses,  in  seeking  to  keep  the  pure  primitive 
faith,  found  the  Vatican  an  Olympus  for  its 
false  gods,  a  Sinai  for  its  terrors  and  thun- 
ders, and  a  Golgotha  for  its  tortures  and 
blood. 

2.  Obstacles  to  intercourse.  Outward  ap- 
proach proved  often  no  real  access.  Serious 
inside  walls  had  to  be  scaled,  even  when  the 
outer  barriers  were  passed.  Tediously  slow 
travel  and  transportation  made  neighbors 
foreigners;  languages,  strange  and  hard  to 
master,  hindered  even  converse  and  commu- 


REMOVAL   OF  BARRIERS.  3 1 

nication,  and,  formed  in  the  matrix  of  hea- 
thenism, offered  no  mould  for  spiritual  ideas ; 
moreover,  at  least  sixty  such  tongues  must 
be  reduced  to  writing,  having  no  literature, 
or  even  lexicon  or  grammar.  Woman  was 
hopelessly  secluded  within  harems,  zenanas, 
seraglios ;  degraded  to  the  level  of  the  cattle 
for  which  she  was  bartered,  or  the  donkeys 
with  which  she  was  associated  as  a  burden- 
bearer,  unwelcome  as  a  babe,  untaught  as 
a  child,  enslaved  as  a  wife,  despised  as  a 
widow,  and  unwept  as  dead,  denied  all  social 
status  and  individual  rights,  and  even  a  soul. 
Worst  of  all,  caste,  that  gigantic  foe  of  human 
progress,  forbade  not  only  conversion,  but 
communion  among  converts. 

3.  Obstacles  to  impression.  Some  of  the 
unevangelized  races  seemed  on  too  low  a 
level  to  be  lifted  even  by  the  lever  of  the 
gospel ;  others  stood  too  high,  and  were  too 
proud  to  feel  the  need  of  its  uplifting.  In 
some  not  only  the  image  of  God,  but  the 
image  of  man,  was  defaced,  if  not  effaced; 
they  were  dumb  beasts  for  shamelessness  and 


32  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

wild  beasts  for  brutality  and  ferocity,  not 
only  dehumanized  but  demonized.  Others, 
like  the  hundreds  of  millions  of  India  and 
China,  proud  of  their  hoary  age,  high  culture, 
poetic  and  ethical  faiths,  and  a  social  mo- 
rality that  in  some  respects  put  Christian 
communities  to  shame,  were  under  the  sway 
of  a  subtle  priesthood,  and  clad  in  self-com- 
placency as  in  an  impenetrable  coat  of  mail. 
The  gospel  might  pass  the  barriers  that 
hindered  approach  and  intercourse,  but  here 
was  another  still  more  insurmountable.  What 
could  a  feeble  missionary  band  do  in  con- 
fronting great  nations  that  boasted  of  their 
antiquity  and  aristocracy,  and  accounted 
apostasy  a  crime  against  both  God  and 
man,  which  was  without  apology  and  beyond 
forgiveness  ? 

4.  Obstacles  to  action.  The  Church  itself 
had  reared  barriers  to  its  own  missionary  ac- 
tivity. The  disgraceful  iniquities  and  im- 
moralities with  which  the  Christian  nations 
were  implicated  and  complicated  made  the 
name  "  Christian  "  a  stench  instead  of  a  sweet 


REMOVAL   OF  BARRIERS.  33 

savor  to  the  pagan  world.  England  forced 
opium  upon  China,  even  at  the  cannon's 
mouth ;  vessels  brought  missionaries  to 
Africa  from  Christian  lands,  and  then  bore 
back  to  those  lands  her  stolen  slaves;  the 
Hawaiians  caught  the  consuming  leprosy  of 
lust  from  the  merchant  ships  of  Christian 
countries ;  and  the  North  American  Indians 
took  the  infection  of  drunkenness  from  con- 
tact with  our  *'  higher  civilization."  The 
work  of  missions  advanced  under  the  awful 
shadow  of  a  prejudice  against  Christendom 
for  which  Christian  nations  were  responsible ; 
for  in  some  cases  intercourse  had  already 
proved  to  pagan  peoples  worse  than  Isola- 
tion. Missionaries  landing  on  foreign  shores 
were  sometimes  compelled  to  regret  that  the 
shuttle  of  commerce  had  already  woven  a 
bond  of  contact  with  the  "  Christians  "  whom 
they  came  to  represent. 

Beside  all  this,  apathy  and  lethargy  reigned 
in  the  Church.     Ignorance  of  man's  need  and 
of  God's  work  made  the  indifference  that  pre- 
vailed the  more  hopeless ;  worse  than  mere 
3 


34  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

lack  of  sympathy,  or  apathy,  there  was,  even 
inside  the  Church,  antipathy  to  missionary 
effort;  while  sectarian  jealousy  checked  ac- 
tivity, cooled  ardor,  and  wasted  energy  that, 
with  harmony  and  unity,  co-operation  and 
concentration,  might  have  multiplied  results 
a  hundred-fold.  At  times  zeal  seemed  to 
kindle,  but  only  flashed  into  a  flame  of  tem- 
porary excitement  and  contagious  enthusiasm, 
soon  to  die  down  and  leave  no  lasting  results 
in  self-sacrifice.  Sheldon  Dibble  declared 
that  Christians  need  conversion  to  foreign 
missions  as  really  as  a  sinner  needs  conver- 
sion to  Christ.  Adoniram  Judson  said  his 
"  hand  was  nearly  shaken  off,  and  his  hair 
nearly  shorn  off  for  mementoes,  by  those 
who  would  willingly  let  missions  die."  Albert 
Bushnell  found  no  obstacles  at  the  Gaboon 
so  disheartening  as  those  at  home,  in  the 
"  churches,  one  half  of  which  give  nothing, 
and  the  other  half  give  little,  but  pray  even 
less."  No  wonder  if  missionaries  hesitated 
to  go  down  into  the  deep,  dark  mine  of  hea- 
thenism, with  no  one  to  "  hold  the  rope." 


REMOVAL   OF  BARRIERS.  35 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  representative  bar- 
riers that,  within  the  memory  of  men  still 
living,  stood  between  the  Church  and  the  un- 
evangelized  world,  defying  all  merely  human 
wisdom  or  power  to  remove  or  to  surmount. 
To-day,  if  not  all  entirely  out  of  the  way, 
they  are  down,  like  Jericho's  walls ;  and  from 
every  quarter  the  hosts  of  God  have  only  to 
march  straight  before  them,  climb  over  the 
prostrate  ruins,  and  take  the  strongholds  of 
Satan.  Nor  has  the  half  been  told,  or  even 
hinted,  of  the  wonderful  rapidity  with  which 
God  has  done  this  preparatory  work.  It  is 
impossible  to  pack  into  a  few  paragraphs  the 
huge  mass  of  facts  which  no  child  of  God 
can  carefully  survey  without  becoming  a  con- 
vert to  missions.  There  has  been  nothing 
less  than  a  new  exodus  out  of  an  Egypt  of 
apathy  and  insensibility,  a  new  crossing  of 
the  Red  Sea,  a  new  overwhelming  of  the 
pursuing  foe,  a  new  pilgrimage  behind  God's 
pillar.  The  angel  of  the  Lord  has  gone 
before  the  mission  band  till,  within  one  cen- 
tury, its  ranks  reach  round   the  world.     At 


36  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

the  command  of  Jehovah  land  after  land  has 
admitted  the  heralds  of  the  cross,  till  every 
people  is  now  accessible,  till  in  the  most 
hopeless  fields  the  harvest  waves,  and  the 
whole  aspect  of  the  world  is  marvellously 
changed. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  MOVING  OF  THE  PILLAR. 

F  the  modern  movements  in  mission- 
ary history  have  been  under  divine 
leadership,  we  shall  find  the  evidence 
of  unity  of  plan  in  the  close  and  necessary 
connection  of  its  various  parts  with  each 
other.  How  is  it?  To  him  who  carefully 
watches  the  signal  pillar,  the  conspicuous  de- 
velopments in  the  modern  missionary  epoch 
are  so  related  that  each  implies  the  others  as 
essential  to  one  complete,  consistent  scheme. 

For  example,  God  has  unquestionably  gone 
before  His  church  to  open  doors  great  and 
effectual  for  the  entrance  of  the  gospel.  This 
implies  a  corresponding  movement  within 
His  church  to  train  and  prepare  an  elect, 
select  band  of  warriors  and  workers  to  carry 
the  gospel  through  those  open  doors;    and 


38  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

these  again  imply  another  and  more  general 
work,  infusing  into  His  church  as  a  whole  a 
missionary  spirit  and  imparting  to  it  a  mis- 
sionary character,  that  the  men  and  means 
might  be  supplied  to  keep  the  ranks  of  the 
advancing  columns  full,  to  preserve  a  line  of 
communication,  and  to  furnish  the  rations 
and  weapons  of  war.  Such  have  been  the 
facts.  These  mutually  necessary  develop- 
ments have  all  proven  the  work  to  be  under 
the  eye  and  guided  by  the  hand  of  one  Su- 
preme Head.  Whichever  way  we  look,  and 
from  whatever  point,  at  the  history  crowded 
into  this  great  century  of  missions,  we  know 
not  in  what  aspect  of  affairs  these  supernatu- 
ral interpositions  appear  miost  wonderful.  It 
is,  throughout,  *'  the  Lord's  doing,  and  mar- 
vellous in  our  eyes." 

When  we  see  a  hundred  barriers,  that  can 
only  be  compared  to  mountains,  removed  as 
completely  as  though  they  were  cast  into 
the  sea;  when  we  see  a  hundred  doors  flung 
open  without  human  hands,  after  centuries 
of  rigid    exclusion   even   toward  commerce, 


THE  MOVING  OF  THE  PILLAR.      39 

and  leaving  for  the  missionary  an  open  path 
to  the  very  heart  of  great  empires, — it  seems 
as  though  the  miracle  wrought  in  Peter's  be- 
half, when  the  huge,  iron  city  gate  opened 
of  its  own  accord,  had  been  so  often  repeated 
in  these  days  that  it  has  ceased  to  be  any 
longer  a  marvel.  When  we  see  how,  during 
these  hundred  years,  God  has  been  leading 
out  his  chosen  few  to  dare  the  assault  upon 
the  very  citadels  of  paganism ;  to  face  with- 
out fear  famine,  fever,  exposure,  privation, 
torture,  and  death;  and  how  He  has  made 
them  brave,  strong,  and  victorious,  with  every 
possible  hinderance  as  to  numbers,  money,  and 
worldly  power,  against  which  to  contend,  —  we 
can  only  account  for  their  courage,  consecra- 
tion, or  success  by  the  fact  that  He  who  went 
with  Gideon  against  Midian,  or  Joshua  against 
Jericho,  has  by  His  angel  led  this  ''forlorn 
hope."  And  when,  once  more,  we  remember 
how,  one  hundred  years  ago,  the  whole  Church 
seemed  practically  dead  to  foreign  missions ; 
how  Carey,  in  forming  that  first  English  mis- 
sionary society,  fought  for  twelve  years  the 


40  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

apathy  and  even  the  hostiHty  of  his  Christian 
brethren  and  fellow-ministers,  as  Wilberforce 
for  forty  years  fought  the  English  Parliament 
to  secure  the  abolition  of  the  slave-trade  and 
the  emancipation  of  the  slave ;  when  we  re- 
member that  from  almost  absolute  and  uni- 
versal indifference  and  even  opposition,  one 
hundred  years  ago,  the  whole  Church  has 
wheeled  into  line,  declaring  its  profound  sym- 
pathy with  missions,  forming  its  hundreds  of 
great  organizations  that  ramify  into  almost 
every  local  church,  laying  millions  of  dollars 
annually  on  the  altar  of  missions,  and  sending 
thousands  of  missionaries  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth  with  its  prayers  and  tears  and  blessing ; 
when  we  think  that  for  the  first  time  since 
the  age  of  the  apostles  the  Church  of  Christ, 
through  all  her  evangelical  denominations, 
is  organized  for  a  campaign  whose  professed 
purpose  is  a  world's  evangelization,  —  once 
more,  we  can  only  exclaim,  *'  What  hath  God 
wrought !  "  Only  He  in  whose  hands  are  the 
hearts  of  men,  to  turn  them  whithersoever 
He  will,  could  have  wrought  such  a  change 


THE  MOVING   OF  THE  PILLAR.      41 

in  the  whole  attitude  and  aspect  of  Christen- 
dom within  so  short  a  time.  Saul's  conver- 
sion was  not  more  miraculous  than  this  new 
conversion  of  the  Church.  Here  were  bar- 
riers to  the  evangelization  of  the  world  quite 
as  formidable  in  their  way  as  any  to  be  found 
in  the  superstition  and  hostility  of  pagan 
peoples. 

But  God  moved  in  His  church  as  well  as 
before  it.  And  so  as  we  near  the  close  of 
this  first  century  of  modern  missions,  lo,  this 
missionary  net-work  overspreads  the  globe ! 
Over  two  hundred  and  fifty  languages  and 
dialects  are  now  the  chariots  to  bear  the  won- 
derful words  of  life  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
What  were  rallying  points  In  1820  became 
radiating  points  a  half-century  later;  and 
pagan  nations,  which  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century  were  the  slaves  of  vices  that  were 
eating  away  their  own  vitals,  now,  themselves 
evangelized,  reach  out  a  hand  to  help  and 
save  their  pagan  neighbors. 

India  is  now  a  starry  firmament,  sparkling 
with  missionary  stations;    Turkey  is  planted 


42  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

with  churches  from  the  Golden  Horn  to  the 
Tigris  and  Euphrates,  and  the  cross  is  be- 
ginning to  outshine  the  crescent ;  Syria  edu- 
cates young  men  and  women  in  her  Christian 
schools,  seminaries,  and  colleges,  and  from 
her  consecrated  press  scatters  throughout  the 
dominions  of  Mohammed  the  million  leaves 
of  the  Tree  of  Life;  Japan  strides  in  her 
**  seven-league  boots  "  toward  a  Christian 
civilization,  and  with  a  rapidity  that  rivals 
apostolic  days;  Africa  is  girdled,  crossed, 
penetrated  by  missionary  bands,  and  is  draw- 
ing to  itself  the  wondering  gaze  of  the  world ; 
Polynesia's  thousand  church-spires  point  like 
fingers  to  the  sky,  and  where  the  cannibal 
ovens  roasted  the  victims  for  the  feast  of 
death,  the  Lord's  table  is  now  spread  for  the 
feast  of  life  and  love.  Even  papal  lands 
now  invite  Christian  labor.  McAll  crowds 
Paris  and  surrounding  cities  with  his  hundred 
gospel  stations,  and  Signor  Arrighi  prophe- 
sies that  the  World's  Evangelical  Alliance  will 
yet  meet  in  St.  Peter's  Church  and  lodge  its 
delegates  in  the  chambers  of  the  Vatican ! 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   OPENING   OF  DOORS:    INDIA. 

N  glancing  at  the  opening  of  these 
doors  we  naturally  begin  with  In- 
dia, for  when  God  entered  that  land 
with  Christian  missions  He  was  driving  an 
entering-wedge  into  the  very  heart,  geograph- 
ical and  moral,  of  Oriental  paganism,  piercing 
the  centre  of  the  enemy's  line  of  battle,  that 
He  might  turn  their  staggering  wings. 

India  was  the  ''  Gibraltar  of  paganism."  It 
seemed  impregnable.  First,  it  had  a  great 
population  —  numbering  then  about  two  hun- 
dred millions  —  entirely  hostile  to  the  gos- 
pel. Secondly,  it  had  two  great  religions, 
the  most  subtle,  seductive,  and  despotic  the 
world  has  yet  known,  — Brahminism  and  Mo- 
hammedanism, —  and  holding  the  people  in 
an  iron  grasp.     Thirdly,  there  was  a  system 


44  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

of  social  caste,  that  with  the  rigid,  frigid  fet- 
ters of  ice  that  no  sun  ever  melts,  keeps 
manhood  locked  up,  and  prevents  all  social 
fusion  and  homogeneity,  —  caste  that  would 
make  it  a  curse  for  the  shadow  of  one  man 
to  fall  across  another,  or  for  two  converts  to 
drink  out  of  one  sacramental  cup.  Once 
more,  as  though  still  to  shut  up  India,  even 
when  the  doors  were  open,  the  East  India 
Company  was  there,  nominally  representing 
a  Christian  nation,  really  an  avaricious,  am- 
bitious, selfish,  sordid  corporation,  strength- 
ening heathenism  and  weakening  Christian 
missions.  These  were  the  four  principal  bar- 
riers to  evangelization,  all  of  them  too  great 
for  mere  human  strength  or  skill  to  over- 
come. No  man  on  earth  would  have  been 
wild  enough  to  have  proposed  the  moral  and 
spiritual  regeneration  of  India,  but  for  the 
faith  that  divine  power  is  behind  the  gospel 
and  the  gospel  preacher. 

Yet  India  has  been  opened  to  the  gospel, 
and  the  process  reaches  far  back  into  the 
ages.     Soon  after  the  discovery  of  America, 


THE  OPENING  OF  DOORS:  INDIA.  45 


at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  navi- 
gators successfully  rounded  the  old  "  Cape 
of  Storms,"  and  called  it  "  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,"  and  a  new  route  was  open  to  the 
golden  Indies.  In  the  very  last  day  of  the 
sixteenth  and  the  dawn  of  the  seventeenth 
century  Queen  Elizabeth  granted  to  a  com- 
pany of  London  merchants  a  charter,  the 
original  basis  of  the  "  East  India  Company," 
for  trading  with  the  East  Indies;  and  in 
161 2  Captain  Beal  obtained  from  the  court 
at  Delhi  sundry  important  privileges,  orig- 
inally commercial  only,  but  gradually  merg- 
ing into  a  military  occupation  of  the  country. 
Factories  became  depots  for  goods,  then 
forts,  protecting  the  property  and  lives  of 
resident  foreigners  representing  the  com- 
pany. Every  new  foothold  thus  obtained 
was  a  pretext  for  new  acquisition  of  terri- 
tory and  dominion  on  the  part  of  Europeans. 
The  growth  of  that  English  trading  company 
in  power  and  property  is  one  of  the  phe- 
nomena of  history.  Seventeen  years  after 
the  charter  was    issued    the    stock    stood  at 


46  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

above  two  hundred  per  cent,  while  the  fac- 
tories were  no  longer  at  Surat  only,  but  at 
Java,  Sumatra,  Borneo,  the  Banda  Islands, 
Celebes,  Malacca,  Siam,  the  Coromandel 
and  Malabar  coasts,  but  chiefly  the  domin- 
ions of  the  Great  Mogul,  whose  authority 
had  now  set  its  seal  and  sanction  on  the 
company.  In  1620  —  the  year  that  the 
*'  Mayflower  "  anchored  off  Plymouth  — 
the  capital  had  gone  up  from  thirty  thousand 
to  four  hundred  thousand  pounds,  —  over 
thirteen-fold  in  twenty  years. 

We  refer  in  detail  to  the  early  history  of 
the  East  India  Company  because  this  mon- 
strous monopoly  was  the  beginning  of  Brit- 
ish empire  in  the  very  heart  of  the  East. 
Behind  man's  selfish  schemes,  back  of  the 
avarice  and  ambition  of  unprincipled  Eng- 
lishmen, lay  a  divine  purpose.  Like  Joseph's 
sale  into  slavery  in  Egypt,  "  God  meant  it 
unto  good."  It  was  the  displacement  of  Ro- 
man Catholic  powers  —  as  represented  in  the 
Portuguese,  who  had  exclusive  privilege  of 
commerce  with  India  in  1587  —  by  the  dom- 


THE  OPENING   OF  DOORS:  INDIA.  47 

inant  Protestant  nation  of  the  world,  which 
all  unconsciously,  and  through  the  sordid 
instruments  of  a  trading  monopoly  that  hated 
missionaries,  was  laying  the  foundations  of  a 
Christian  empire  in  the  Indies.  Meanwhile 
renewed  charters  with  enlarged  powers,  re- 
newed purchases  with  enlarged  jurisdiction, 
greater  concessions  from  the  governments 
both  of  England  and  India,  prepared  the 
company  for  that  new  era  which  began  in 
1748,  when  the  political  power  of  tJie  B^'itish 
ift  India  opened  another  volume  of  Oriental 
history.  Think  of  an  English  trading  com- 
pany, which  could  have  been  swept  from  the 
earth  in  an  hour  by  the  aroused  milhons  of 
India,  alternately  expelling  and  protecting 
the  Rajah  of  Tanjore,  deposing  the  Nabob  of 
Bengal,  and,  backed  by  British  arms,  com- 
pelling Tippoo  Sahib  to  relinquish  half  his 
dominions  and  three  and  a  half  milhon 
pounds  in  bullion ! 

We  have  no  space  further  to  recite  this 
romance  of  history.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
when,    in    1858,    the    East    India   Company 


48  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

was  finally  abolished,  and  all  its  possessions 
and  powers  and  prerogatives  were  turned 
over  to  the  crown  of  England,  its  Board  of 
Control  had  long  been  a  court  of  final  appeal. 
Its  military  force  in  the  East  Indies  cost  in 
one  year  ten  million  pounds  to  maintain; 
and  the  receipts  of  the  home  treasury  were 
a  million  more.  And  the  influence  of  this 
British  power  in  India  had  been  on  the  whole 
hostile  to  missions.  One  of  the  company's 
directors  said  that  he  would  rather  see  a  band 
of  devils  than  a  band  of  missionaries  in  India. 
From  1792  to  18 12  reUgious  and  educational 
labor  was  prohibited.  William  Wilberforce 
led  the  movement  which  ended  in  a  new 
charter  for  the  company,  providing  for  the 
tolerating  of  missions;  but  the  change  was 
only  in  name.  Evangelism  was  hindered  and 
heathenism  helped;  and  as  late  as  1852 
$3,750,000  were  paid  from  public  funds  to 
repair  temples,  provide  new  idols  and  idol- 
cars,  and  support  a  pagan  priesthood. 

But   in    1857  the  Sepoy  rebellion  proved 
that  the  heathen,  thus  favored  by  the  British 


THE  OPENING  OF  DOORS:  INDIA,  49 

government,  massacred  her  subjects,  while 
the  native  Christians  proved  her  loyal  friends, 
and  from  that  day  the  attitude  of  the  English 
government  underwent  a  change :  hostility 
gave  place  to  neutrality  and  neutrality  to 
commendation.  In  1873  the  Secretary  of 
State  for  India  put  on  record  the  following 
testimony :  — 

"  The  government  cannot  but  acknowledge  the 
great  obligation  under  which  it  is  laid  by  the  be- 
nevolent exertions  of  those  six  hundred  mission- 
aries, whose  blameless  example  and  self-denying 
labor  are  infusing  new  vigor  into  the  stereotyped 
life  of  the  great  populations  placed  under  English 
rule,  and  are  preparing  them  to  be  in  every  way 
better  men  and  better  citizens  of  the  great  empire 
in  which  they  dwell." 

The  *'  London  Quarterly  Review "  says  of 
this  report,  that  the  '^  testimony  of  the  Indian 
government  to  the  importance  and  value  of 
the  indirect  results  of  Indian  missions  is 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  facts  that  can 
claim  to  have  a  place  in  missionary  his- 
tory." The  fact  is,  it  is  a  testimony  ex- 
4 


so  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

torted  from  a  long  prejudiced  and  even  hostile 
party  ! 

And  so  another  barrier  was  down.  If  the 
policy  of  the  government  was  still,  in  some 
respects,  favorable  to  paganism ;  if  *'  lands 
were  assigned  for  temples  and  the  sup- 
port of  idol-worship,  equivalent  to  previous 
money-grants,  and  the  government  sinned 
in  the  lump  enough  for  a  hfetime,"  —  it  is 
still  true  that  Christian  missions  were  no 
longer  opposed,  but  encouraged.  God  had 
permitted  English  influence  and  politics  to 
become  rooted  in  India  by  strange  means; 
but  one  thing  was  settled,  —  the  Euro- 
pean power  dominant  in  the  heart  of  Asia 
was  to  be  Protestant,  not  Papal;  and  so, 
in  subsequent  contests  with  Portugal  and 
France,  England  maintained  her  supremacy, 
and  the  cross  rather  than  the  crucifix 
seems  destined  to  sway  this  great  Oriental 
empire. 

Thus,  by  movements  extending  over  cen- 
turies, the  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of 
India    are    made   accessible    to   the   gospel. 


\ 


THE  OPENING   OF  DOORS:   INDIA.   5 1 

Five  times  the  population  of  the  United 
States  there  wait  for  the  Light  of  the  World 
to  displace  the  fading  "•  Light  of  Asia,"  and 
reveal  Heaven  instead  of  Nirvana.  The  door 
is  open  to  the  golden  Indies,  and  in  the 
whole  history  of  missions  no  other  such  op- 
portunity has  ever  been  offered.  Here  is  a 
colossal  pagan  empire,  under  one  head,  vir- 
tually controlled  by  a  Protestant  queen,  and 
permeated  by  the  influence  of  the  great 
Christian  nation  which  she  rules ;  civil  and 
religious  rights  assured  alike  to  missionary 
and  convert;  with  postal  facilities,  rapid  trans- 
portation, and  telegraphic  communication; 
with  sixty  thousand  schools  and  a  hundred 
colleges ;  with  presses  scattering  books,  mag- 
azines, and  newspapers;  with  the  English 
tongue  so  widely  diffused  and  so  generally 
understood  that  Julius  Seelye  and  Joseph 
Cook  could  speak  to  large  audiences  of 
native  Brahmins  without  an  interpreter. 
Here  is  the  very  intellect  of  Asia  with  its 
ancient  literature,  its  imposing  architecture, 
its  vigorous  faculties  waiting  to  be  won  and 


52  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

then  wielded  for  God.  If  India  be  the  Gib- 
raltar of  heathendom,  taken  for  Christ  it 
becomes,  like  Gibraltar,  a  controlling  fortress 
guarding  the  very  highway  to  other  Oriental 
empires. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

INDIAN     MISSIONS. 

HE  door  might  be  nominally  open  in 
India,  and  yet  our  missionary  work 
prove  a  failure.  Is  there  any  reason 
to  believe  that  the  door  is  really  open,  that  the 
gospel  is  actually  impressing  this  great  peo- 
ple? No  country  has  presented  a  field  of 
labor  more  unpromising.  The  general  in- 
telligence of  the  people,  the  subtle  acuteness 
of  a  Jesuitical  priesthood,  the  prevalence  of 
pagan  faiths  so  fascinating  that  even  edu- 
cated men  from  Christian  lands  compose 
poetic  panegyrics  on  "  the  Light  of  Asia," 
the  seclusion  and  slavery  of  woman,  the  mon- 
strous system  of  caste,  and  the  strong  hold 
of  superstition  on  the  common  mind,  —  so 
many  and  such  high  barriers  seldom  defy 
the   gospel   as   in    India.       They   have    dis- 


54  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

mayed  even  some  courageous  disciples. 
When  Robert  Nesbit  was  about  to  go  to 
Bombay,  Dr.  Hill,  his  theological  professor, 
said  to  him :  ''  You  must  be  a  fool  for  go- 
ing to  India  to  preach  the  gospel  there ! 
Don't  you  know  that  the  Hindus  are  all 
better  than  ourselves,  and  that  by  your  going 
there  it  will  spoil  the  matter?"  And  yet 
God  has,  in  spite  of  such  ignorance  and  un- 
belief in  the  Church,  already  wrought  won- 
ders in  India. 

A  new  population  begins  to  make  itself 
felt  in  India.  Christian  homes  rapidly  multi- 
ply in  which  the  caste  idea,  which  has  ruled 
India  so  long  and  so  cruelly,  no  more  holds 
sway.  To  the  caste  Hindu  these  Christians 
are  outcasts ;  but  the  outcasts  are  becoming 
so  numerous  as  to  form  a  community  of 
their  own.  There  are  tens  of  thousands  of 
them,  and  they  are  increasing  more  rapidly 
than  ever.  A  silent  but  wonderful  transfor- 
mation is  going  on  in  that  strange  land, 
and  is  illustrating  the  power  of  missions. 

Female  education  is  making  rapid  prog- 


INDIAN  MISSIONS.  55 

ress,  and  is  encouraged  by  intelligent  and 
wealthy  natives.  A  Bombay  merchant  lately 
gave  fifteen  thousand  rupees  toward  the 
founding  of  a  girls'  school;  and  the  Maha- 
rajah ofTravancore  has  given  a  large  sum 
in  aid  of  female  medical  education. 

Rev.  Narayan  Sheshadri,  the  converted 
educated  Brahmin,  is  competent  to  speak 
and  tell  what  he  has  seen  in  a  quarter  of 
a  century  in  this  most  difficult  field  for 
gospel  triumph.  He  says  that  an  intelligent 
Hindu  cannot  avoid  comparing  his  sacred 
books  with  our  Bible.  The  four  grand 
books  called  the  Vedas,  now,  by  European 
scholarship,  unlocked  to  the  popular  mind 
by  translation  from  the  ancient  Sanscrit,  have 
had  their  mystic  charms  dissolved  as  light 
scatters  mist  at  morning.  They  are  found 
to  consist  each  of  three  parts, —  lyrical,  ritual, 
philosophical.  The  lyrics  are  really  prayers, 
and  here  is  a  specimen :  ''  O  thou  Ugne, 
god  of  fire,  that  ridest  in  a  chariot  drawn 
by  milk-white  horses,  ever  radiant,  youthful, 
come   to    our   sacrificial   feast!     eat    of    the 


56  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

viands  and  drink  of  the  soma  juice  that  we 
have  prepared/'  The  soma  juice  is  an  in- 
toxicating drink  made  from  the  soma  plant ; 
and  this  prayer  is  an  invocation  to  a  whiskey- 
drinking  god !  How  long  would  it  take  an 
intelligent  and  candid  Hindu  to  feel  the  im- 
measurable inferiority  of  the  Vedic  prayers 
to  the  Psalms  of  David? 

As  to  the  ideas  contained  in  the  philo- 
sophical part  of  the  Vedas,  they  are  seen  to 
be  equally  in  contrast  with  the  sublime  con- 
ceptions of  God  and  of  religion  contained 
in  our  Holy  Scriptures.  It  is  not  certain 
whether  the  god  of  the  Vedas  is  one  or 
many,  or  even  personal.  Brahin  is  neuter, 
an  IT.  For  ages  upon  ages  this  great  IT 
lies  dormant,  inactive;  then  begins  to  grow, 
till  sun  and  moon  become  its  eyes,  the  rocks 
its  finger-nails,  the  forests  its  hair;  and  then 
it  declares  itself,  I  AM  BRAHM I  How 
what  was  without  life,  consciousness,  thought, 
or  emotion,  thus  develops,  the  philosophers 
answer  by  that  convenient  word  "  mystery." 
Here  is  nothing  but  an  old,  rude  pantheism ; 


INDIAN  MISSIONS.  $7 

there  is  no  human  identity  or  responsibility 
apart  from  Brahm;  man's  sins,  folHes,  and 
faults  become  God's.  What  begins  in  ab- 
surdity ends  in  blasphemy.  The  education 
which  by  some  was  thought  to  lift  the  Hin- 
dus above  the  reach  of  Christianity  is  the 
very  means  of  showing  them  the  incompara- 
ble superiority  of  God's  Word.  Culture  may 
not  convert  them  to  Christ,  but  it  converts 
them  from  Brahm ;  and  the  most  acute  ob- 
servers have  boldly  declared  that  Brahmin- 
ism  in  India  is  dead  or  dying. 

This  is  further  proven  by  the  remarkable 
decay  of  superstitious  rites  and  practices. 
The  suttee  is  a  thing  of  the  past :  the  widow 
no  more  burns  on  the  funeral  pyre  of 
her  husband ;  children  are  no  more  flung 
into  the  idolized  Ganges  by  superstitious 
mothers. 

Caste  was  thought  to  be  the  insurmounta- 
ble barrier  to  Christianity;  but  the  railway, 
that  democratic  institution,  makes  caste  privi- 
leges too  costly  for  the  greed  of  the  Brahmin. 
In  the  car  he  rides  in  the  third-class  com- 


5  8  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

partment  side  by  side  with  the  lowest  caste, 
because  it  is  cheaper;  and  in  the  horse-car 
he  does  the  same,  because  there  are  no  com- 
partments. And  so  Brahmin,  Parsee,  and 
Sudra  not  only  travel  in  company,  but  keep 
company  in  travel,  exchanging  courtesies  and 
converse ! 

Schwarz,  whose  combined  manliness  and 
godliness  constrained  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, and  even  the  Rajah  of  Tanjore,  to 
build  monuments  to  his  memory,  sailed  for 
Tranquebar  in  1750.  That  same  year  four 
hundred  were  baptized,  and  in  1880  the 
native  Christian  population  of  India  num- 
bered upwards  of  half  a  million.  There  are 
hundreds  of  native  pastors  and  native 
church  councils.  The  increase  is  not  simply 
in  arithmetical,  but  in  geometrical,  progres- 
sion. That  native  Christian  population  grew 
twenty-fold  in  fifty  years,  and  during  the 
last  three  decades  the  ratio  has  advanced 
from  fifty  per  cent  to  sixty,  and  then  to 
ninety  per  cent. 

Not  only  is  there  this  increase  in  numbers, 


INDIAN  MISSIONS.  59 

but,  what  is  more  important,  in  influence. 
To  be  a  Christian  is  to  be  respected,  to 
take  an  advanced  position,  to  compel  others 
to  concede  and  confess  superiority.  Chris- 
tians take  the  lead  in  intelligence,  morality, 
integrity;  the  Christian  home  is  a  constant 
witness  to  the  religion  that  lifts  family  life 
to  a  higher  plane ;  the  Christian  church  is 
m.anifestly  a  model  of  human  brotherhood, 
the  ideal  democracy.  Dr.  Scudder,  after 
twenty  years  spent  among  the  Brahmins, 
declares  that,  though  there  is  no  keener 
intellect  on  earth  than  theirs,  yet  the  gospel 
wins  its  way  to  their  minds  and  hearts. 
Sheshadri  turned  from  the  popular,  the  philo- 
sophical, and  the  atheistic  forms  of  reHgion 
to  the  Book  of  Books,  and  found  more  wis- 
dom in  the  first  verse  of  Genesis  than  in  all 
the  Vedas.  Ganga  Dhar,  the  Brahmin  of 
Orissa,  bowed  before  the  Christ  of  God,  and 
devoted  his  transcendent  gifts  and  graces  to 
the  proclamation  of  the  gospel.  Even  to 
those  acute  Hindus  the  logic  of  his  head 
and  heart  is  irresistible,  and  his  simple  story 


60  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

of  the  cross  makes  them  cry,  which  Is  hke 
"  squeezing  water  out  of  pebbles." 

Sir  WiUiam  Muir  testifies  that  "  thousands 
have  been  brought  over,  and,  in  an  ever-in- 
creasing ratio,  converts  are  being  brought  to 
Christianity;  and  these  are  not  shams  nor 
paper  converts,  but  good  and  honest  Chris- 
tians, and  many  of  them  of  a  high  standard." 
Sir  Herbert  Edvvardes  said,  twenty  years 
ago :  *'  God  is  forming  a  new  nation  in  India, 
While  the  Hindus  are  busy  pulHng  down 
their  own  religion,  the  Christian  church  is 
rising  above  the  horizon.  Every  other  faith 
in  India  is  decaying;  Christianity  alone  is 
beginning  to  run  its  course.  I  believe,  if  the 
English  were  driven  out  to-day,  Christianity 
would  remain  and  triumph."  Max  Miiller 
said  to  Norman  McLeod  that  he  knew  of 
no  people  as  ripe  for  Christianity  to-day  as 
the  East  Indians. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  testimonies  of  rep- 
resentative men  who  have  had  rare  oppor- 
tunities to  study  the  East  Indian  question; 
yet  there  are  hundreds  of  others  who  give 


INDIAN  MISSIONS.  6 1 

similar  testimony.  Sir  Richard  Temple,  who 
had  been  a  quarter  of  a  century  on  the 
ground,  and  been  governor  of  both  the  Ben- 
gal and  Bombay  Presidencies,  said  in  New 
York  in  1882,  that  if  the  growth  of  Christi- 
anity goes  on  at  the  rate  of  its  advancement 
previous  to  1880,  "there  will  by  the  year 
1910  be  about  two  million  native  Christians 
in  India."  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  in  1873,  said: 
"  Whatever  you  may  be  told  to  the  con- 
trary, the  teaching  of  Christianity  among  the 
one  hundred  and  sixty  millions  of  civilized, 
industrious  Hindus  and  Mohammedans  in 
India  is  effecting  changes,  moral,  social,  and 
political,  which,  for  extent  and  rapidity  of 
effect,  are  far  more  extraordinary  than  any- 
thing that  you  or  your  fathers  have  wit- 
nessed in  modern  Europe."  To  the  same 
effect  are  the  testimonies  of  Sir  Donald  Mc- 
Leod,  once  lieutenant-governor  of  the  Pun- 
jaub,  Sir  William  Hill,  Lord  John  Lawrence, 
the  Earl  of  Northbrook,  Hon.  W.  E.  Baxter, 
and  others.^ 

1   See   Dr.   Ellinwood's    article.      Foreign  Missionary, 
Jan.,  1886,  p.  354. 


62  777^   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

A  jubilee  was  recently  held  in  Tinnevelly 
to  commemorate  Bishop  Sargent's  fifty  years 
of  service  under  the  Church  Missionary  So- 
ciety. He  has  now  six  hundred  assistants, 
twelve  thousand  communicants,  and  a  Chris- 
tian community  of  five  times  that  number. 

But  we  are  not  limited  to  the  testimonies  of 
professed  disciples,  whose  sanguine  optimism 
might  be  thought  to  invest  the  work  with  a 
false  halo.  Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  the  founder 
of  the  Brahmo  Somaj,  records  his  significant 
confession  that  ''  the  spirit  of  Christianity 
has  already  pervaded  the  whole  atmosphere 
of  Indian  society,  and  we  breathe,  think, 
feel,  and  move  in  a  Christian  atmosphere. 
Native  society  is  being  roused,  enlightened, 
and  reformed  under  the  influence  of  Christi- 
anity. Our  hearts  are  touched,  conquered, 
overcome  by  a  higher  power;  and  this  power 
is  Christ.  Christ,  not  the  British  govern- 
ment, rules  India."  The  Prince  of  Travan- 
core,  in  1874,  said  publicly:  — 

"  Where  did  the  English-speaking  people  get 
all  their  intelligence,  and  energy,  and  cleverness, 


INDIAN  MISSIONS.  63 

and  power?  It  is  their  Bible  that  gives  it  to 
them.  And  now  they  bring  it  to  us  and  say, 
'This  is  what  raised  us.  Take  it  and  raise  your- 
selves.' They  do  not  force  it  upon  us,  as  the 
Mohammedans  did  their  Koran,  but  they  bring 
it  in  love,  and  translate  it  into  our  languages, 
and  lay  it  before  us  and  say,  *  Look  at  it,  read  it, 
exsmiine  it,  and  see  if  it  is  not  good.'  Of  one 
thing  I  am  convinced,  — do  what  we  will,  oppose 
it  as  we  may,  it  is  the  Christian's  Bible  that  will, 
sooner  or  later,  work  the  regeneration  of  this 
land.  Marvellous  has  been  the  effect  of  Christi- 
anity in  the  moral  moulding  and  leavening  of 
Europe.  I  am  not  a  Christian  ;  I  do  not  accept 
the  cardinal  tenets  of  Christianity  as  they  con- 
cern man  in  the  next  world  ;  but  I  accept  Chris- 
tian ethics  ill  their  entirety.  I  have  the  highest 
admiration  for  them." 

Thus  even  the  East  Indians  themselves 
confess  that  before  the  gospel  their  own 
religions  are  giving  way,  Hinduism  and 
Mohammedanism  are  losing  their  grip.  Hea- 
then men  used  to.  say  to  Dr.  Scudder,  "  Let 
tcs  alone ;  our  children  are  bound  to  become 
Christians." 

Last  October,  during  the   semi-centennial 


64  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

of  the  Basle  Mission  in  Southern  India, 
an  address  of  congratulation  was  presented, 
signed  by  over  one  hundred  residents  of 
Mangalore,  mostly  Brahmins  and  all  in 
high  position,  themselves  keepers  of  caste, 
yet  seemingly  glad  of  the  victories  which 
Christianity  has  gained  over  it.  The  address 
witnesses  to  the  high  character  of  the  mis- 
sionary work  in  uplifting  those  who  are  edu- 
cated in  the  schools,  to  a  higher  level,  and 
raising  the  social  condition  of  the  lower 
castes. 

It  would  seem  not  in  vain  that  six  hundred 
missionaries  are  sleeping  in  the  soil  of  India; 
they  are  the  buried  seed  of  a  coming  har- 
vest of  souls.  In  one  year  sixty  thousand 
left  Mohammedanism,  Parseeism,  and  Brah- 
minism  to  identify  themselves  with  Christian 
communities.  Dr.  Sherring,  of  Allahabad, 
said,  that  if  the  gospel  conquests  should  ad- 
vance for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  as 
between  1851  and  1871,  all  India  would  be 
Christianized.  Sheshadri,  however,  well  adds 
that   *'  God   works    according   to    a    higher 


INDIAN  MISSIONS.  65 

arithmetic  of  His  own,"  and  declares,  "  I 
have  no  faith  to  wait  for  two  hundred  years. 
From  what  I  have  noticed  in  our  own  coun- 
try and  other  countries,  the  time  may  not  be 
far  distant  when  we  shall  have  gone  from 
sixty  thousand  converts  to  a  hundred  thou- 
sand, and  from  a  hundred  thousand  to  a 
million,  and  then  within  a  short  time  the 
whole  of  India  will  be  evangelized." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

BURMAH  AND  THE  KARENS. 

URMAH,  beyond  the  sacred  Ganges, 
contains  about  three  millions  of  peo- 
ple. A  country  with  fine  forest  tim- 
ber and  a  variety  of  vegetable  riches,  stores 
of  mineral  wealth  and  oil,  gold-bearing  sands, 
and  mines  of  iron,  lead,  silver,  and  gold,  and 
even  rubies  and  sapphires,  cannot  be  thought 
poor  in  resources. 

Here,  as  in  Hindostan,  God  has  permitted 
British  diplomacy  and  arms  to  establish  an 
Anglo-Indian  empire,  controlling  the  sea- 
board from  the  mouth  of  the  Ganges  to  the 
Malacca  Strait,  and  unlocking  this  land  also 
to  the  gospel,  which,  as  no  student  of  mis- 
sions needs  to  be  told,  has  here  found  a 
special  arena  for  its  triumphs. 


BURMAH  AND   THE  KARENS,        67 

The  work  among  the  Karens,  especially, 
seems  to  bring  us  back  to  apostolic  times. 

When  Mr.  Boardman  removed  from  Maul- 
main  to  Tavoy  to  plant  there  the  germ  of  a 
Christian  church,  there  lived  in  his  family  a 
middle-aged  man  who  had  been  a  slave,  till 
the  missionaries  illustrated  '*  redemption  "  by 
buying  his  freedom.  When  he  left  Maulmain 
he  was  already  a  convert  to  Christianity,  and 
soon  after  reaching  Tavoy  was  baptized.  His 
name  was  Ko-Thah-byu,  and  he  was  one  of 
the  race  of  the  Karens.  His  name  will  never 
be  forgotten ;  for  he  was  the  first  who  in  the 
Burmese  Empire  embraced  Christianity,  and 
afterwards  for  many  years  preached  the 
gospel  to  his  despised  and  oppressed  country- 
men with  rare  zeal  and  success.  His  conver- 
sion was  a  turning-point  for  the  race  to  which 
he  belonged,  for  it  called  the  attention  of  the 
missionaries  to  them,  and  suggested  that 
"mission  among  the  Karens  "  which,  in  in- 
tensity of  interest  and  measure  of  success, 
has  scarcely  been  equalled  by  any  other  in 
modern  times. 


68  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

These  Karens,  or  Karians,  i.  e.  wild  men^ 
are  a  somewhat  pecuHar  people,  scattered 
over  the  forests  and  mountains  of  Burmah 
and  Siam  and  parts  of  China;  and,  though 
more  industrious  and  less  vicious  than  the 
Burmese,  are  their  inferiors  physically  and 
intellectually.  They  are  looked  down  upon  as 
slaves,  and  compelled  to  pay  heavy  taxes,  to 
till  the  land,  and  do  servile  work  for  their 
oppressors.  To  avoid  those  who  would  kid- 
nap and  enslave  them,  they  lead  a  wandering 
life,  and  live  in  regions  comparatively  remote 
and  inaccessible. 

These  Karens,  though  they  believed  in  a 
god  and  in  a  future  state  of  rewards  and 
punishments,  were  without  any  form  of  re- 
ligion or  priesthood  or  superstitious  rites. 
They  seemed  divinely  prepared  for  the 
gospel,  and  welcomed  the  good  news  with 
enthusiastic  delight. 

It  is  now  nearly  sixty  years  ago  that  Mr. 
Boardman,  constrained  by  the  importunate 
invitation  of  Karens  in  the  interior,  under- 
took to  journey  to  the  remoter  villages  with 


BURMAH  AND   THE  KARENS.        69 

Ko-Thah-byu  as  his  interpreter.  He  found 
a  zayaty  built  by  the  natives  in  anticipation 
of  his  coming,  large  enough  to  contain  the 
whole  population  of  the  village,  many  of 
whom  stayed  all  night  for  further  instruction, 
and  five  of  whom  asked  for  baptism.  After 
ten  days  he  returned  to  Tavoy,  convinced 
that  this  most  interesting  people  ought  to  be 
reached  by  itinerant  preaching  and  schools. 

The  story  is  too  long  to  be  told  in  these 
pages.  Mr.  Boardman's  consecrated  life  closed 
after  a  few  years'  labor,  and  his  tomb  at  Tavoy 
is  significantly  located  in  what  was  once  a 
Buddhist  grove,  beneath  the  shadow  of  a 
ruined  pagoda.  But  the  work  thus  begun 
has  grown  with  a  rapidity  seldom  paralleled. 
In  1878  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  con- 
version of  Ko-Thah-byu  was  kept  by  jubilee 
gatherings  and  the  consecration  of  the  Me- 
morial Hall  that  bears  his  name.  The  Karens 
themselves  built  it  for  school  and  other  mis- 
sion purposes,  at  a  cost  of  fifteen  thousand 
dollars.  It  represented  twenty  thousand 
then  living  disciples  converted  from  demon- 


70  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

worship,  maintaining  their  own  churches  and 
schools,  beside  twenty  thousand  more  who  in 
the  faith  of  Jesus  have  died  and  gone  to  be 
with  Him  in  glory.  At  the  dedication  of  this 
hall  four  veteran  native  Karen  pastors  and 
hundreds  of  others  were  present.  The  hall 
measures  134  feet  on  its  south  front,  131 
on  the  east,  and  104  on  the  west.  It  has 
a  splendid  audience-room,  66  by  38  feet, 
with  a  fine  gallery.  Along  the  east  side  is 
carved  in  Karen,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God,"  etc. ;  and  on  the  west,  ''  These  words 
.  .  .  thou  shalt  teach  diligently  unto  thy 
children."  What  a  work  may  this  hall  see 
done  in  fifty  years  to  come ! 

He  who  would  realize  what  the  gospel  has 
done  for  the  Karen  slaves  must  go  and  stand 
on  that  "  Gospel  Hill,"  and  see  Ko-Thah-byu 
Memorial  Hall  confronting  Shway-Mote-Tau 
pagoda  on  an  opposing  hill,  with  its  shrines 
and  fanes.  Here  is  the  double  monument  of 
what  the  Karens  were  and  are.  Burmah  has 
not  only  taken  her  stand  among  the  givers, 
but,  in   1880,  ranked  third  in  the  list  of  do- 


BURMAH  AND   THE  KARENS.        7 1 

nors  to  the  Baptist  Missionary  Union,  —  only 
Massachusetts  and  New  York  outranking  her ! 
Massachusetts  gave  $41,312.72;  New  York, 
$39,469.78,  and  Burmah  $31,616.14!  and  of 
this  amount  the  Karejt  churches  gave  over 
$30,000!  Fifty  years  ago  in  idolatry,  now 
an  evangelizing  power !  And  not  content 
with  this,  they  set  about  raising  another 
$25,000  to  endow  a  normal  and  industrial 
institute.  Their  liberality  puts  to  shame  the 
so-called  benevolence  of  our  Christians  at 
home.  We  give  out  of  our  abundance;  "the 
abundance  of  their  joy  and  their  deep  poverty 
abound  unto  the  riches  of  their  liberality." 

In  the  Government  Administration  Report 
for  British  Burmah  for  1 880-1 881  there  is 
a  glowing  tribute  to  the  American  Baptist 
missionaries,  followed  by  the  statement  that 
there  were  then  attached  to  their  communion 
"  four  hundred  and  fifty-one  Christian  Karen 
parishes,  most  of  which  support  their  own 
church,  parish  school,  and  native  pastor, 
and  many  of  which  subscribe  considerable 
sums  for  missionary  work."    The  report  adds: 


^2  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

"  Christianity  continues  to  spread  among  the 
Karens,  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  Com- 
monweahh ;  and  the  Christian  Karen  commu- 
nities are  distinctly  more  industrious,  better 
educated,  and  more  law-abiding  than  the 
Burman  and  Karen  villages  around  them. 
The  Karen  race  and  the  British  government 
owe  a  great  debt  to  the  American  mission- 
aries, who  have,  under  Providence,  wrought 
this  change  among  the  Karens  of  Burmah." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   OPEN   DOOR   IN   SIAM. 

lAM,  or  Syam,  the  brown,  presents 
another  peculiar  opportunity  for 
the  entrance  of  the  gospel.  Within 
about  two  hundred  thousand  square  miles  of 
territory  is  a  population  estimated  at  eight 
millions.  Little  has  been  known  of  this 
romantic  country,  very  few  works  having 
been  published  on  Siam  and  the  Siamese, 
until  of  late,  when  the  attention  of  the  civil- 
ized world  has  been  turned  that  way.  We 
are  now  beginning  to  know  something  of 
this  second  great  river-basin  of  the  Indo- 
Chinese  Peninsula,  with  Bangkok,  its  capital, 
the  ''  Venice  of  the  Orient." 

The  vegetation  is  abundant,  luxuriant,  and 
marvellously  beautiful ;  the  fruits  unsurpassed 
in  variety  and  excellence.     The  animal  king- 


74  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

dom  is  no  less  varied  and  interesting,  includ- 
ing the  famous  so-called  *' white  elephant," 
as  the  form  associated  with  the  appearing  of 
Buddhas,  and  the  transmigration  of  souls, 
far  on  their  way  toward  the  Buddhist  heaven. 
Nirvana.  In  the  soil  lie  undeveloped  vast 
quantities  of  valuable  mineral  and  metal,  and 
precious  stones.  Though  woman  is  by  no 
means  man's  equal,  even  here,  her  condition 
is  vastly  superior  to  that  of  her  sex  generally 
in  the  East,  and  her  ordinary  treatment  is 
affectionate  and  considerate.  Social  distinc- 
tions are  numerous,  and  mimerical,  —  five  rep- 
resenting the  lowest  slave,  and  one  hundred 
thousand  the  second  king. 

The  sacred  literature,  in  the  Pali,  is  written 
with  a  stylus  on  long  slips  of  palm-leaf,  and 
the  four  hundred  principal  works  embrace 
four  thousand  volumes.  The  secular  con- 
sist of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  principal 
works,  with  two  thousand  volumes.  Of  the 
males,  from  eighty  to  ninety  per  cent  can 
read,  and  education  is  afforded  gratuitously 
at  the  temples.     Buddhism  absolutely  sways 


THE   OPEN  DOOR  IN  SIAM.  75 

this  people.  Its  sacred  fanes,  resembling  the 
Egyptian  in  their  type  of  architecture,  are 
among  the  costliest  and  finest  of  the  Orient. 
One  is  estimated  to  have  cost  $800,000,  and 
contains  nine  hundred  images  of  Buddha, 
the  principal  of  which,  in  a  reclining  pos- 
ture, is  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  feet  long, 
inlaid  with  pearl  and  overlaid  with  gold. 
The  priesthood  once  numbered  one  hundred 
thousand,  but  are  much  fewer  now. 

Protestant  missions  date  from  the  days  of 
Gutzlaff,  Tomlin,  and  Abeel  in  1 828-1 831, 
and  properly  from  the  settlement  of  Jones 
in  1833.  Half  a  century  ago  all  foreigners, 
whether  missionaries  or  merchants,  were  ex- 
cluded; now  all  Christian  countries  enjoy 
treaty-rights.  No  country  on  earth  is  per- 
haps more  widely  open  to  the  gospel,  and 
here  the  Presbyterian  Church  especially 
should  concentrate  her  forces ;  for  Divine 
Providence  has  especially  given  to  this  body 
of  Christians  this  land  to  occupy  for  Him. 

The  American  Baptists  have  had  a  mission 
there  for  over  fifty  years,  but  now  they  are 


76  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

working  only  among  resident  Chinese,  from 
whom  Dr.  Dean,  in  1837,  organized  the  first 
church  of  Chinese  Christians  in  all  Asia.  To 
the  Presbyterians  of  America  is  thus  left  at 
present  the  entire  evangehzation  of  the  native 
Siamese.  To  do  this  great  work,  that  de- 
nomination has  but  two  main  stations,  at 
Bangkok  and  Petchaburi;  and  two  more 
among  the  Laos,  at  Chiengmai  and  Lakawn. 
Their  entire  force  of  missionaries,  were  they 
all  on  the  ground,  would  number  but  six 
men,  twelve  women,  and  nine  native  preachers 
and  teachers.  In  other  words,  twenty-seven 
workers  in  all,  who,  if  their  responsibility 
could  be  averaged,  would  have  the  care  of 
three  hundred  thousand  souls  each ! 

Yet  few  appreciate  the  opportunity  that 
Siam  presents.  The  country  feels  through- 
out her  extent  the  thrill  of  her  contact  with 
Western  civilization.  The  telegraphic  cir- 
cuit embraces  her  and  binds  her  to  the 
Christian  world.  The  postal  system  is  ex- 
tending from  Bangkok  to  the  bounds  of  the 
kingdom.     Mercantile  enterprise  is  develop- 


THE   OPEN  DOOR  IN  SIAM.  77 

ing  the  exports  and  introducing  imports. 
The  King  is  pronounced,  next  to  the  Mikado 
of  Japan,  the  most  "progressive  sovereign 
in  Asia."  Himself  an  educated  man  and 
an  astronomer,  he  favors  education.  More 
than  this,  he  favors  the  missionaries,  and  has 
frequently  made  donations  toward  the  mis- 
sion work.  The  government  gives  practical 
proof  of  its  estimate  of  the  value  of  Chris- 
tian missions  by  giving  the  land  for  a  new 
mission  station  at  Lakon.  The  King  sub- 
scribes $1,000  for  a  hospital  building.  These 
are  but  the  latest  of  a  series  of  friendly 
acts,  showing  the  attitude  of  the  royal  court 
toward  the  work  of  the  mission. 

With  the  death  of  the  then  reigning  King 
in  185 1  this  new  and  liberal  policy  was  in- 
augurated by  the  government.  His  suc- 
cessor, who  reigned  for  seventeen  years,  was 
a  cultivated  gentleman  and  scholar,  who  had 
been  taught  in  languages  and  modern  science 
by  a  missionary  of  the  American  Board  ;  and 
under  the  present  reign  the  influence  of  Prot- 
estant missionaries  with  the  government,   as 


78  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

we  have  seen,  has  not  waned.  An  official 
document,  under  royal  sanction,  testifies  to 
their  intelligence,  integrity,  and  personal 
worth.  It  acknowledges  the  debt  of  the 
Siamese  to  them  for  teaching  them  to  read 
and  speak  the  English  tongue,  and  says : 
"  The  American  missionaries  have  always 
been  just  and  upright  men ;  have  never  med- 
dled in  the  affairs  of  government  nor  created 
any  difficulty  with  the  Siamese;  have  lived 
with  the  Siamese  just  as  if  they  belonged  to 
the  nation ;  "  and  furthermore,  this  document 
affirms  the  high  standing  of  the  missionaries 
in  the  respect  and  love  of  the  government. 

Siam  was  not  opened  by  gunpowder  or 
diplomacy,  but  by  missionary  influence,  and 
the  whole  aspect  of  the  nation  and  its  atti- 
tude toward  Christianity  are  gradually  under- 
going a  change.  The  preaching,  the  teaching, 
the  press,  and  the  medical  missions  are  the 
four  conspicuous  agencies  which  God  is  now 
using  to  bring  Siam  to  Christ.  With  what 
results,  a  single  example  may  show,  and  give 
a  hint  of  the  possibilities  of  the  near  future. 


THE   OPEN  DOOR  IN  SIAM.  79 

When  this  young  King,  now  about  thirty- 
years  old,  patron  of  letters,  science,  and  art, 
recently,  by  a  sad  accident,  lost  his  wife,  he 
sent  his  brother  to  the  missionaries  for  a 
copy  of  the  New  Testament;  and  that  elder 
brother  gave  as  a  reason  for  the  request 
that  the  King  had  lost  faith  in  Ids  own  relig- 
io7i ;  that  he  could  find  nothing  in  Buddhism 
to  console  him  in  his  great  grief.  Buddhism 
is  the  State  religion.  It  might  cost  the  King 
his  crown,  or  even  his  head,  to  espouse  the 
Christian  faith;  but  what  meaning  lies  en- 
folded in  the  fact  that  this  disconsolate  mon- 
arch flies  to  the  Christian's  Bible  for  the 
solace  in  his  bereavement,  that  his  pagan 
creed  is  unable  to  supply !  How  much  nearer 
may  Siam  be  to  becoming  a  Christian  na- 
tion than  many  of  us  think ! 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  first  Zenana 
teaching  ever  attempted  in  the  East  was  by 
missionary  women,  in  185 1,  among  the  thirty 
wives  and  royal  sisters  of  the  King  of  Siam. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE  WALLED   KINGDOM. 

HIS  is  the  name  by  which  China  has 
been  known  for  centuries.  Its  vast 
territory  of  over  five  and  a  half 
million  square  miles  —  five  eighths  as  large 
as  the  whole  continent  of  Africa,  one  tenth 
as  large  as  the  globe  itself  —  has  a  pop- 
ulation variously  estimated  at  from  350,- 
000,000  to  500,000,000.  No  other  country 
can  claim  artificial  water  communication 
of  such  extent;  the  Grand  Canal,  650  miles 
long,  is  but  the  largest  of  four  hundred  which 
form  the  highways  of  the  empire  for  transit 
and  travel,  and  at  the  same  time  supply  a 
system  of  irrigation.  Within  a  country  hav- 
ing a  coast  line  of  3,350  miles,  a  frontier  of 
12,550,  reaching  through  38  degrees  of  lat- 


THE   WALLED  KINGDOM.  8 1 

itude  and  nearly  twice  as  many  of  longitude, 
we  may  well  expect  to  find  every  variety  of 
animal,  mineral,  and  vegetable. 

But  the  great  attraction  of  China  as  a 
mission  field  lies  in  the  people,  who  are 
called  the  ''  Oriental  Yankees."  They  are 
industrious,  frugal,  polite,  and  capable;  and 
while  they  have  the  vices  of  a  pagan  peo- 
ple, they  rank  even  above  the  East  Indians 
in  the  plane  of  their  civilization.  Proud  of 
their  antiquity,  they  have  a  history  whose 
authentic  records  reach  back  to  the  age  of 
fable.  They  may  well  boast  of  a  civilization 
which  is  founded  upon  such  men  as  Confu- 
cius, who  was  born  550  B.  C,  and  whose  death 
preceded  the  birth  of  Socrates  by  eleven 
years;  and  Zoroaster,  or  Zarathustra,  who 
dates  from  seven  hundred  to  five  thousand 
years  earlier,  —  men  who  stand  in  their  re- 
lation to  China  where  Moses  does  to  the 
Hebrews,  and  Socrates  to  the  Greeks. 

Excepting     steam-engines,    electric     tele- 
graphs, and  the  most  startling  inventions  of 
modern  days,  there  are  few  great  inventions 
6 


82  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

which  have  not  been  in  use  in  China  for  cen- 
turies before  they  were  known  outside  the 
Walled  Kingdom;  even  the  mariner's  com- 
pass, movable  type,  printing  and  paper,  porce- 
lain, silk,  gunpowder,  etc.,  being  long  famiHar 
to  this  remarkable  and  exclusive  people. 
They  have  a  high  type  of  popular  education, 
civil  service  with  competitive  examinations, 
and  a  social  structure  on  firmer  foundations 
than  any  other  empire,  with  one  system  of 
manners,  letters,  and  policy.  It  is  quite  ob- 
vious that  the  specimens  of  Chinese  charac- 
ter which  commonly  find  their  way  to  our 
shores  are  not  fair  representatives  of  this 
ancient  and  remarkable  people. 

In  no  country  is  it  possible  for  capacity 
and  fidelity  to  find  recognition  mpre  than  in 
the  Celestial  Empire.  All  public  offices  are 
open  to  graduates  of  the  colleges,  academies, 
and  universities,  without  distinction  of  nation- 
ality, birth,  class,  or  creed;  and  so  brains 
and  skill  are  the  highways  to  public  honors 
and  official  emoluments.  Erudition,  accord- 
ing to  their  standard,  is  the  golden  mile-stone 


THE   WALLED  KINGDOM.  83 

from  which  all  roads  radiate  in  the  adminis- 
trative system. 

The  great  wall,  called  by  them  the  "  Myr- 
iad Mile  Wall,"  is  the  most  gigantic  defence 
ever  built  by  man.  It  winds  along  the  north 
frontier  of  China  proper  for  fifteen  hundred 
miles,  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  high,  with 
towers  rising  forty  feet,  and  is  broad  enough 
for  six  horsemen  to  ride  abreast.  It  may 
well  represent  China's  attitude  toward  Chris- 
tian missions  until  the  famous  treaty  of 
Tientsin,  in  1858.  On  August  25  of  that 
memorable  year  the  Atlantic  cable  shot 
across  the  ocean-bed  the  news  that  this  co- 
lossal Oriental  empire  was  open  not  only 
to  the  commerce  of  the  world,  but  to  the 
gospel. 

The  pride  of  the  Chinese  in  their  ancient 
civilization  and  religious  and  ethical  faiths 
presented  a  formidable  barrier  to  evangeliza- 
tion. Their  national  isolation  is  partly  the 
result  of  inordinate  conceit.  The  Emperor  is 
the  Son  of  Heaven,  sits  on  a  dragon  throne, 
signs    decrees   with   a  vermilion    pencil;  his 


84  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

empire  is  the  "  middle  kingdom,"  his  people 
the  "  celestials."  The  geography  of  the 
Chinese  gave  nine  tenths  of  the  globe  to 
China,  a  square  inch  to  England,  and  left  out 
America  altogether.  The  lexicon  of  their 
language  dates  back  almost  to  the  beginning 
of  the  Christian  era,  and  the  imperial  library 
of  eighty  thousand  volumes  was  ancient  when 
that  of  Alexandria  was  burned.  Yet  their 
"golden  age"  is  manifestly  past,  and  for  cen- 
turies they  have  halted  and  made  no  progress, 
ever  resisting  innovation.  But  as  they  begin 
to  feel  the  power  of  contact  and  intercourse 
with  enlightened  nations,  the  petrified  con- 
stitution and  culture  of  four  thousand  years 
begins  to  lose  its  impenetrability  and  inflex- 
ibility. There  is  to  be  a  railway  from  Tient- 
sin to  Pekin ;  the  sea  and  the  capital  are  to 
be  united  by  a  hnk  of  steel.  As  Carleton 
Coffin  prophesied,  years  ago,  the  superstition 
about  the  "  Earth  Dragon  "  will  be  exploded 
when  the  Chinaman  sees  the  railway  plough- 
ing through  even  the  burial-places  of  his 
ancestors.     Geomancy  must  die  before  mod- 


THE    WALLED  KINGDOM,  85 

ern  civilization,  and  the  gospel  will  take  its 
place. 

Notwithstanding  their  numerous  religions  ; 
ancestral  worship,  with  its  tablets  and  shrines 
in  every  house ;  idolatry,  with  its  patron 
god  for  every  trade,  and  its  annual  cost  of 
$180,000,000;  Confucianism,  Tauism,  Buddh- 
ism, Mohammedanism,  —  though  it  be  easier 
to  find  a  god  than  a  man,  the  Chinese  are  a 
nation  of  atheists ;  and  with  all  their  high 
civilization,  a  nation  of  gamblers,  opium- 
eaters,  rakes,  and  drunkards.  Their  very 
language  has  the  taint  of  moral  leprosy,  and 
the  walls  of  inns  are  painted  with  the  ''  flow- 
ers "  of  obscenity. 

Woman's  condition  is  degraded  and  de- 
plorable beyond  words.  Mandarin  Ting  said 
to  the  French  traveller,  Hue,  ''  Women  have 
no  souls."  The  birth  of  a  daughter  is  held 
to  be  a  calamity  and  disgrace;  the  infanti- 
cide of  girls  is  fearful  in  extent.  In  forty 
towns  about  Amoy  Mr.  Abeel  found  two 
fifths  of  all  the  girls  were  destroyed  in  in- 
fancy, —  drowned     or    buried    alive,  —  and 


S6  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

commonly  by  the  father.  Mr.  Doolittle  says 
that  probably  more  than  half  the  families 
of  Foochow  have  destroyed  one  or  more 
female  children.  Those  who  are  not  killed 
or  exposed  are  sold  in  infancy  for  wives  or 
slaves.  The  husband  may  beat,  starve,  or  sell 
his  wife,  and  women  are  constantly  driven  to 
suicide. 

It  is  reckoned  that  the  Chinese  Empire 
contains  1,700  cities,  within  which  he  grave- 
yards containing  in  some  cases  20,000,000 
dead. 

The  language  was  another  barrier  to 
Chinese  evangelization,  that  was  as  high  as 
Babylon's  impregnable  walls.  With  its  tones, 
aspirates,  and  idioms;  with  its  43,500  words 
in  the  official  dictionary,  5,000  of  which 
must  form  a  scholar's  vocabulary;  with  root 
words  estimated  at  from  315  to  4,000,  and 
214  symbolic  characters;  with  its  compli- 
cated **  hieroglyphs,"  one  of  which  takes 
over  fifty  strokes;  with  its  further  compli- 
cations from  tones  and  inflections,  so  that 
one  word  uttered  in  ten  different  ways  means 


THE    WALLED  KINGDOM.  8/ 

as  many  things,  and  words  identical  in  sound 
are  diverse  in  form  and  sense;  with  its  in- 
capacity for  sacred  ideas  and  expression  of 
spiritual  graces,  so  that  for  a  half  century 
translators  doubted  what  name  to  use  for 
God,  —  the  Chinese  tongue  seemed  Satan's 
master-device  to  exclude  the  gospel.  Yet 
happily  the  ''Mandarin,"  or  written  language, 
throughout  the  empire  is  one,  however  dif- 
ferent the  spoken  dialects.  A  Frenchman, 
taking  the  elementary  parts  of  the  language, 
reduced  them  to  a  few  hundred  ;  the  Presby- 
terian Board  helped  him  with  $5,000  to  com- 
plete his  alphabet  and  presses.  In  1874  one 
Chinaman  made  over  six  hundred  stereotype 
plates,  and  as  long  ago  as  1875  there  were 
eight  presses  at  Shanghai  alone,  scattering 
Christian  literature. 


CHAPTER   X. 

PROTESTANT  MISSIONS   IN   CHINA. 


ROTESTANT  missions  in  China  date 
back  to  1807,  when  Robert  Morri- 
son, the  "  last-maker  "  of  Morpeth, 
their  pioneer,  came  to  Canton.  He  had  pre- 
pared for  divinity  school  by  studying  all  night 
and  making  boot-trees  all  day.  Nominated 
translator  to  the  East  India  Company's  fac- 
tory at  Canton,  he  lived,  ate,  slept,  and 
studied  in  the  warerooms  of  a  New  York 
merchant.  There,  in  native  dress,  with  long 
nails  and  cue,  praying  in  broken  Chinese, 
and  studying  by  night  beside  his  little 
earthen  lamp,  this  heroic  man  prepared  to 
give  China  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  the  native 
tongue.  After  seven  years  he  baptized  his 
first  convert  and  completed  the  translation 


PROTESTANT  MISSIONS  IN  CHINA.  89 

of  the  New  Testament.  Joined  by  William 
Milne,  they  two,  in  1818,  gave  to  that  empire 
the  whole  Bible.  Eleven  years  later  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  For- 
eign Missions  sent  Bridgman,  Abeel,  and 
others ;  and  so  the  missionary  band  and  their 
work  slowly  grew.  Converts  began  to  multi- 
ply;  between  1853  and  1871  their  number  had 
increased  more  than  twenty-fold.  Mission- 
aries were  so  highly  respected  that  in  one 
case  an  offer  of  $10,000  in  gold  was  made 
them  as  an  inducement  to  take  charge  of 
government  schools. 

Five  years  ago  over  thirty  missionary  soci- 
eties were  at  work  in  the  Celestial  Empire, 
with  something  less  than  three  hundred  and 
fifty  missionaries  and  teachers,  over  one  hun- 
dred stations,  and  five  hundred  out-stations. 
The  China  Inland  Mission,  under  the  wonder- 
ful organizing  power  of  J.  Hudson  Taylor,  is 
calling  to  itself  the  eyes  of  the  world  just 
now,  partly  from  its  peculiar  basis  and  partly 
from  the  fact  that  the  university  graduates, 
who  were  converted  in  connection  with  Mr. 


90  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

Moody's  labors,  at  Cambridge  and  elsewhere, 
have  so  largely  been  identified  with  it.  It  was 
organized  in  1865,  and  upon  five  principles:  — 

1.  It  is  unsectarian  but  evangelical,  repre- 
senting exclusively  no  branch  of  the  Church, 
but  welcoming  friends  and  workers  from  all 
denominations. 

2.  It  has  no  inflexible  educational  stand- 
ard of  qualification,  insisting  only  on  a  fair 
measure  of  ability  and  acquisition,  with  good 
health,  good  sense,  and  consecration. 

3.  It  is  conducted  as  a  work  of  faith,  in- 
curring no  debt,  asking  no  aid,  fixing  no 
salaries,  but  distributing  funds  as  they  are 
sent  in. 

4.  It  requires  workers  to  identify  them- 
selves with  the  people  for  whom  they  labor, 
in  dress,  cue,  etc. 

5.  It  magnifies  dependence  on  God,  as  the 
sole  patron  of  the  mission. 

Its  present  staff  is  less  than  three  hundred, 
and  its  income  for  1884  was  nearly  $100,000. 
Rev.  H.  C.  Du  Bose  prophesies  that  in 
ten  years  this  mission  will  equal  in  numbers 


PROTESTANT  MISSIONS  IN  CHINA.  9 1 

the  other  missionaries  from  all  lands  and 
churches,  boards  and  societies. 

Christian  missions  could  not  but  suffer 
very  serious  hinderance  by  the  course  of 
events  from  1820  to  1858.  The  disgraceful 
opium  war  left  a  lasting  reproach  on  the 
name  of  England,  and  associated  the  name 
of  Christian  with  an  act  worthy  of  the  worst 
of  barbarians.  For  years  the  British  per- 
sisted in  flooding  the  country  with  this  Indian 
drug.  Tao-kuang,  seeing  that  body,  mifid, 
and  morals  were  dying  of  the  drug,  in  1828 
issued  severe  prohibitory  laws,  and  destroyed 
the  trade  for  a  time,  and  ten  years  later 
made  the  use  of  opium  a  capital  offence,  and 
destroyed  British  stock  to  the  amount  of 
$20,000,000.  Then  followed  a  war  which  in 
1842  wrested  from  the  Chinese  government 
concessions  in  favor  of  free  trade  in  opium, 
but  intensified  the  hatred  of  all  foreigners. 

The  very  inability  of  the  Mantchoo  dynasty 
to  repel  the  Christian  powers  brought  upon 
it  contempt  and  hatred,  and  led  to  the  forma- 
tion  of  the   secret  triad    society,   which   in 


92  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

1850  attempted  under  Tien-te  to  overthrow 
the  government,  and  after  his  death,  under 
Hong-siu,  not  only  carried  on  one  of  the 
most  gigantic  rebellions  ever  known,  but  per- 
suaded Christians  and  missionaries  to  identify 
themselves  with  their  cause,  under  the  pretext 
that  the  rebels  themselves  were  a  sort  of  "  Prot- 
estants." This  again  made  Christian  powers 
obnoxious  to  the  Chinese  government. 

Then  followed  a  war,  in  1856,  in  which 
Bittain  led  the  way,  and  it  became  the  signal 
for  a  general  crusade  against  China,  in  which 
France,  the  United  States,  and  Russia  after- 
ward joined ;  and  the  final  issue  of  this  war 
was  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin,  which  reads  as 
follows :  — 

"  The  Christian  religion,  as  professed  by  Prot- 
estants and  Roman  Catholics,  inculcates  the  prac- 
tice of  virtue,  and  teaches  man  to  do  as  he  would 
be  done  by.  Persons  teaching  or  professing  it, 
therefore,  shall  alike  be  entitled  to  the  protection 
of  the  Chinese  authorities ;  nor  shall  any  such, 
peaceably  pursuing  their  calling  and  not  offend- 
ing against  the  laws,  be  persecuted  or  interfered 
with." 


PROTESTANT  MISSIONS  IN  CHINA.  93 

In  that  treaty  the  "  wall "  has  been  thrown 
down,  and  every  man  may  "go  up  straight 
before  him "  and  take  possession.  To  all 
the  provinces,  with  their  seventeen  hundred 
cities  and  innumerable  villages,  the  mission- 
aries may  go,  without  hinderance  or  molesta- 
tion, claiming  in  case  of  necessity  protection 
and  aid ;  and  native  Chinese  may  claim  the 
privilege  of  both  embracing  and  confessing 
the  Christian  faith.  Well  does  Dr.  Gracey 
say  that  ''  never  before  since  the  world  be- 
gan did  any  one  document,  so  brief,  admit 
at  once  to  the  possibilities  of  Christianity  so 
large  a  portion  of  the  hum.an  family,  or  roll 
on  the  Christian  church  so  much  responsi- 
bility. It  admitted  one  third  of  the  human 
race  to  the  brotherhood  of  Christian  nations. 
That  door  was  opened  not  by  the  vermilion 
pencil  of  the  Emperor,  but  by  the  decree  of 
the  Eternal."  ^ 

Dr.  Williams,  after  thirty-two  years  in  China, 
thinks  that  half  a  century  more  of  Christian 
missions  will  evangelize,  and  even  Christian- 

1  Open  Doors,  by  J.  T.  Gracey,  D.D.,  pp.  35,  36. 


94  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

ize,  the  empire ;  Mr.  Burlingame  testifies  that 
intelHgent  men  there  put  no  faith  in  the 
popular  reh'gions;  and  Dr.  Bartlett  finely 
adds  that  this  *' Gibraltar  of  pagandom  may 
become  its  Waterloo." 

These  Oriental  Yankees,  once  brought  to 
Christ,  will  become  the  aggressive  missionary 
race  of  the  Orient.  They  are  very  enterpris- 
ing, and  swarm  everywhere  like  bees :  they 
are  even  now  scattered  through  Siam  and 
India,  CaHfornia,  South  America,  and  Aus- 
tralia, and  will  ultimately  people  Polynesia. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

JAPAN,   THE   SUNRISE  KINGDOM. 

O  the  United  States  it  was  given  to 
unlock  the  doors  of  this  island  em- 
pire, and  in  the  light  of  subsequent 
developments  it  proves  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant events  of  modern  missionary  history. 
Those  sea-gates  of  the  Land  of  the  Rising 
Sun  were  bolted  and  barred  for  centuries. 
In  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  fol- 
lowing close  upon  Portuguese  merchants, 
Francis  Xavier,  the  famous  apostle  of  the 
Indies,  visited  the  Sunrise  Kingdom,  and 
conversions  to  the  Papal  Church  were  re- 
ported in  vast  numbers,  even  Japanese 
nobles  and  princes  being  among  the  con- 
verts. In  1582  the  Catholic  converts  sent  an 
embassy  to  Rome  bearing  letters  and  pres- 
ents to  the  Pope  in  token  of  their  allegiance 


96  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

to  the  Supreme  Pontiff.  Their  return  was 
the  signal  for  new  conquests  over  the  native 
heart,  and  in  two  years  twelve  thousand  more 
were  baptized.  The  Portuguese  merchants 
and  missionaries  had  thus  far  been  favorably 
received,  and  the  success  of  the  one  was  as 
great  as  that  of  the  other.  The  haughty 
disdain  with  which  these  adventurers  treated 
the  Japanese,  their  lordly  assumptions  and 
arrogance,  awakened  distrust  on  the  part  of 
the  natives.  Portugal  and  Spain  were  at 
that  time  united,  and  a  Spaniard,  when  asked 
by  Taiko  Sama  how  it  was  that  his  king 
(Philip  II.)  had  managed  to  possess  himself 
of  half  the  world,  unwisely  replied,  "  He 
sends  priests  to  win  the  people,  he  then 
sends  troops  to  join  the  native  Christians, 
and  the  conquest  is  easy."  This  answer  was 
like  a  wind  to  fan  the  fires  of  distrust  al- 
ready kindled.  In  1587  Taiko  decreed  the 
banishment  of  the  missionaries;  the  edict 
was  renewed  by  his  successor  in  1596,  and 
the  next  year  twenty-three  priests  were  put 
to  death  in  one  day  at  Nagasaki.     The  Ro- 


JAPAN,   THE  SUNRISE  KINGDOM.     97 

mish  converts,  instead  of  adopting  concili- 
atory measures,  defied  the  government  and 
made  war  against  the  reHgion  of  the  islands, 
destroying  both  fanes  and  idols.  Persecu- 
tion bared  her  red  right  arm,  and  in  1612 
and  16 14  many  converts  were  put  to  death, 
their  churches  and  schools  laid  in  ruins,  and 
their  foreign  faith  was  pronounced  accursed, 
as  treason  both  against  the  gods  and  the  state. 
Even  the  Portuguese  traders  were  driven  out, 
and  allowed  access  only  to  the  island  of  De- 
sima.  Again,  in  1622  a  horrible  massacre  of 
native  Christians  revived  the  persecution  ;  and 
when,  fifteen  years  later,  it  was  found  that  a 
conspiracy  had  been  formed  between  the 
Japanese  Roman  Catholics  and  the  Portu- 
guese and  Spaniards  to  overthrow  the  im- 
perial throne  and  set  up  the  Papal  See  upon 
its  ruins,  persecuting  violence  swung  to  its 
last  extreme.  Edicts  were  issued  forbid- 
ding Japanese,  on  any  pretext,  to  quit  the 
country,  and  decreeing  that  if  any  Christian, 
or  eveji  the  Christian's  God  himself,  should 
set  foot  on  the  islands,  he  shotild  lose  his 
7 


98  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

head}  By  the  close  of  1639  the  Portuguese 
were  expelled,  and  their  trade  transferred  to 
the  Dutch,  who,  as  their  enemies  and  the  ene- 
mies of  Roman  Catholicism,  were  tolerated. 
In  1640  the  native  Christians  openly  rebelled, 
seized  a  fort,  and  were  only  subdued  by  the 
aid  of  the  artillery  and  military  science  of  the 
Dutch.  When  their  stronghold  fell  the  thou- 
sands within  its  walls  were  indiscriminately 
slaughtered  ;  and  henceforth  intercourse  with 
foreigners  was  suspended,  and  even  the  Dutch 
were  confined  to  the  island  of  Desima. 

This  distrust  and  dislike  of  foreigners  kept 
the  ports  of  Japan  shut  even  against  vessels 
of  commerce,  until  the  middle  of  this  cen- 
tury. In  1852,  in  consequence  of  complaints 
as  to  the  treatment  of  American  seamen  who 
had  been  wrecked  on  the  Japanese  coast,  the 
United  States  sent  Commodore  M.  C.  Perry 

1  The  exact  form  of  this  ancient  edict  is  as  follows  :  — 
"  So  long  as  the  sun  shall  warm  the  earth,  let  no  Chris- 
tian be  so  bold  as  to  come  to  Japan  ;  and  let  all  know  that 
the  King  of  Spain  himself,  or  the  Christian's  God,  or  the 
great  God  of  all,  if  he  violate  this  command,  shall  pay  for 
it  with  his  head." 


JAPAN,   THE  SUNRISE  KINGDOM.     99 

with  an  expedition  to  demand  protection  for 
American  ships  and  their  crews  and  secure  a 
treaty  for  purposes  of  trade. 

In  1853,  on  the  Lord's  Day,  he,  with  a 
squadron  of  seven  ships-of-war,  cast  anchor 
in  the  bay  of  Yeddo.  Spreading  the  Amer- 
ican flag  over  the  capstan  of  his  vessel,  he 
laid  thereon  an  open  Bible,  read  the  One 
Hundredth  Psalm,  and  then,  with  his  Chris- 
tian crew,  sang  from  Kethe's  version :  — 

"All  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell, 

Sing  to  the  Lord  with  cheerful  voice  ; 
Him  serve  with  mirth,  His  praise  forth  tell, 
Come  ye  before  Him  and  rejoice." 

That  first  Christian  psalm  that  ever  sounded 
in  the  bay  of  Yeddo  echoed  over  the  quiet 
waters,  the  signal  of  a  peaceful  conquest. 
Without  firing  a  gun  or  shedding  a  drop  of 
blood,  Japan's  ports  were  thrown  open  to  the 
commerce  of  the  world  and  to  the  evangel 
of  God.  Perry  delivered  the  letter  from  our 
President  to  the  Emperor;  and  on  March  31, 
1854,  negotiations  were  concluded  and  the 
treaty  signed.     Similar   treaties    followed    in 


100  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

September,    1854,   with  Britain,    and    subse- 
quently with  Russia  and  Holland. 

Since  then  the  progress  of  Japan  toward 
the  civilization  of  the  Occident,  and  toward 
assimilation  to  Christian  nations,  has  been 
absolutely  without  precedent  or  parallel. 
Between  thirty  and  forty  millions  of  people 
within  the  space  of  thirty-three  years  —  the 
average  lifetime  of  a  generation  —  have 
changed  in  everything.  Intellectually,  so- 
cially, politically,  religiously;  in  government, 
education,  and  religion;  in  individual  life 
and  family  life;  in  trade  and  manners;  in 
army  and  navy,  finance  and  political  econ- 
omy, —  they  are  scarcely  recognizable.  A 
young  man,  himself  a  Japanese  convert,  a 
student  in  Johns  Hopkins  University,  speak- 
ing lately  in  Bethany  Church,  Philadelphia, 
acknowledged  that  there  is  nothing  left  as  it 
was  thirty  years  ago,  "  except  the  natural 
scenery,"  and  that  "■  the  Light  of  Asia  is  fad- 
ing and  waning ;  but  while  it  is  at  its  sunset, 
.the  Light  of  the  World  is  rising  on  that 
island  empire." 


/ 


JAPAN,   THE  SUNRISE  KINGDOM.    lOI 

The  Mikado  is  to-day  showing  himself  one 
of  the  most  progressive  sovereigns  in  the 
world,  and  the  people  are  not  far  behind.  In 
building  ships  and  constructing  machinery; 
in  projecting  lines  of  railway  and  telegraph; 
in  establishing  schools  and  universities  ;  in  cul- 
ture of  mind  and  cultivation  of  soil ;  in  postal 
facilities  and  political  economy;  in  banishing 
feudalism  and  disestablishing  Buddhism ;  and 
in  a  hundred  other  radical  changes  and  giant 
strides,  —  Japan  is  astonishing  mankind.  It 
is  said  that  the  newspaper  is  an  index  of  civ- 
ilization. Twenty-five  years  ago  Japan  had 
not  one ;  now,  there  are  over  two  thousand, 
—  more  than  in  Russia  and  Spain  combined, 
or  in  all  Asia  beside. 

Meanwhile,  as  all  nations  are  going  to  Ja- 
pan, Japan  is  going  everywhere.  The  sea, 
which  was  her  *'  bulwark,"  is  now  her  "  path- 
way," and  at  every  capital  of  Europe  are  Jap- 
anese representatives.  Caste  distinctions  are 
giving  way  to  democratic  ideas,  and  the  old 
cumbersome  alphabet  to  Roman  characters ; 
while  new  coinage,  a  new  tax  system,  a  new 


I02  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

social  life,  are  the  marks  of  progress ;  and  in 
1 88 1  the  total  of  literary  pubhcations  was 
about  five  thousand.  In  one  year  the  total 
increase  in  the  number  of  pupils  in  schools 
was  two  hundred  thousand. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  year 
(1886)  the  old  ministry  with  its  privy  coun- 
cil gave  place  to  the  modern  "  cabinet,"  and 
the  Mikado  decrees  the  intelligent  reorgan- 
izing of  the  whole  administration.  The  new 
cabinet  embraces  eleven  departments ;  Count 
Ito,  the  President  and  Premier,  and  Count 
Inouye,  who  is  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
and  next  to  him  in  prominence,  and  Mr. 
Mori,  head  of  the  department  of  education, 
are  declared  to  be  the  most  progressive  men 
in  the  empire.  Mori  officially  orders  the 
organization  of  the  Imperial  University  at 
Tokio,  in  five  colleges,  —  of  law,  medicine, 
engineering,  letters,  and  science,  —  with 
branch  institutions  in  four  other  cities.  The 
people  accept  the  new  regime,  and  are  to 
choose  in  1890  a  constituent  assembly. 

In  all  these  changes  Christianity  is  a  prom- 


JAPAN,   THE  SUNRISE  KINGDOM.    103 

inent,  though  partly  unconscious,  factor.  In 
1873  the  calendar  of  Christian  nations  dis- 
placed the  pagan,  and  Anno  Domini  deter- 
mines all  dates.  In  1876  the  national  ''  fifth 
day  "  gave  way  to  the  "'  one  day  in  seven  " 
as  a  day  of  rest.  The  ancient  edict  against 
Christians,  though  unrepealed,  is  a  dead  let- 
ter; absolute  toleration  is  openly  advocated 
by  editors,  orators,  authors,  and  statesmen ; 
and  prominent  leaders,  as  a  measure  of  po- 
litical economy  and  national  advancement, 
advise  the  acceptance  of  Christianity  as  a 
state  religion. 

Mr.  Fukuzawa,  who  three  years  ago  pub- 
lished a  book  urging  that  Christianity  be 
not  even  tolerated  within  the  empire,  re- 
cently completely  changed  his  ground,  and  a 
series  of  articles  from  his  pen  appeared  in 
the  "Jiji  Shimpo,"  urging  with  equal  ve- 
hemence the  adoption  of  Christianity  by  the 
Japanese ;  and  this  not  as  a  rehgious  con- 
vert, but  on  purely  economic  and  political 
grounds,  as  the  best  thing  for  Japan  ethi- 
cally and  socially. 


104         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

Gracey  says,  "  Japan  is  ripe  for  the  Chris- 
tian rehgion  as  no  other  is  on  the  globe; 
and  it  is  possible  Japan  may  become  Christian 
by  royal  decree  i7t  a  day!'  The  people,  hun- 
gry for  the  gospel,  crowd  even  the  theatres 
to  hear  the  preacher,  and  the  whole  aspect  of 
missionary  work  in  Japan  is  as  fascinating  as 
a  romance,  while  it  is  awful  with  the  respon- 
sibility and  reality  of  a  present  and  pressing 
duty,  which  no  language  can  sufficiently 
emphasize. 

At  the  last  Triennial  Conference  of  native 
Christians  at  Tokio,  forty  of  the  native  pas- 
tors and  workers  were  present  from  different 
mission  boards.  What  a  signal  mark  of  the 
rapid  movement  of  missions  in  Japan,  since 
fifteen  years  ago  nearly  every  one  of  these 
converts  was  enveloped  in  the  death-shades 
of  paganism ! 

Only  thirteen  years  since,  the  first  Protes- 
tant church  was  formed,  yet  now  there  are  a 
hundred  and  fifty,  and  from  thirty-one  of 
these  connected  with  the  American  Board 
came  a  congratulatory  letter  prepared  by  the 


JAPAN,   THE  SUNRISE  KINGDOM.    105 

native  Japanese  pastors,  and  addressed  to  the 
Board  at  Its  great  anniversary.  Meanwhile 
Buddhist  priests  are  in  danger  of  being  driven 
to  work  to  avoid  starvation.  The  popular 
faith  in  Buddhism  is  about  dead,  and  instead 
of  the  vast  sums  formerly  spent  on  temples,  it 
is  estimated  that  not  more  than  $150,000  are 
now  expended,  and  an  ex-daimio  sent  $500 
and  a  chandelier  as  a  present  to  the  mission 
church  at  Sanda  at  its  tenth  anniversary . 

Yet  people  see  only  what  they  want  to  see. 
A  lady  spent  eighteen  months  in  Kobe,  and 
opposite  a  chapel  where  there  was  preaching 
every  Sunday.  She  reported  that  she  had 
never  seen  one  native  enter  that  chapel,  and 
that  missions  were  accomplishing' nothing  for 
the  evangelization  of  Japan.  It  was  a  chapel 
expressly  for  foreign  residents,  and  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  missions,  whose  premises 
were  in  another  part  of  the  city.^ 

1  Compare  "  Ely  Volume,"  Introduction,  p.  vii,  for  a 
similar  instance  in  Syria. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

KOREA,  THE  HERMIT  NATION. 

OREA,  though  the  last  of  the  hermit 
nations  to  be  opened  to  the  gospel, 
we  consider  next,  on  account  of  its 
proximity  to  China  and  Japan.  It  has  been 
suddenly  thrown  open  to  evangelistic  labor 
after  a  strict  isolation  of  centuries.  Its  terri- 
tory is  partly  peninsular  and  partly  insular; 
the  peninsula  extends  southward  between  the 
Yellow  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Japan ;  it  is  about 
four  hundred  miles  long  and  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  broad,  and  is  shaped  almost 
exactly  like  Italy.  Numerous  adjacent  is- 
lands, greatly  differing  in  size,  constitute 
the  Korean  archipelago;  they  are  chiefly 
of  granite  rock,  some  rising  two  thousand 
feet   above    sea-level.     The   population   can- 


KOREA,    THE  HERMIT  NATION.    107 

not  vary  far  from  that  of  Siam  in  number, — 
from  eight  miUion  to  twelve  million.  The 
climate  differs  greatly  in  the  north  and 
south;  and  the  vegetable  and  mineral  prod- 
ucts compare  favorably  with  those  of  other 
lands. 

The  predominant  rehgion  is  Buddhism, 
though  there  are  some  followers  of  Confucius, 
as  in  China,  and  some  oi"  a  religion  similar  to 
that  of  the  Shin-tii  in  Japan.  Indeed,  Korea 
seems  in  some  respects  a  cross  between  these 
two  immediate  neighbors. 

In  1882  Korea  was,  by  treaty,  opened  to 
American  commerce;  but  the  key  used  by 
God  to  unlock  this  empire  to  the  gospel  was 
the  medical  mission.  Somewhere  between 
the  sixteenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  Ro- 
manism was  carried  into  this  country  by  pa- 
pal converts  from  Japan  and  China.  About 
one  hundred  years  ago  Senghuni,  a  distin- 
guished official,  professed  conversion  and  was 
baptized  under  the  name  of  "Peter;"  the 
missionaries  were  popular,  and  the  more  edu- 
cated classes   saw  that   even  this   corrupted 


I08  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

form  of  Christianity  was  an  improvement 
upon  paganism.  The  government  became 
alarmed;  the  priesthood  led  on  a  persecu- 
tion, and  the  Catholic  converts  recanted  or 
fled  to  China,  or  endured  torture  and  mar- 
tyrdom. In  1835  Roman  Catholic  missions 
again  found  entrance  into  Korea  by  way 
of  China  and  Mantchuria;  and  the  Jesuits 
claimed  fifteen  thousand  converts,  even  as 
late  as  1857,  after  being  again  driven  from 
the  field. 

But  we  are  especially  concerned  with  the 
late  opening  for  Protestant  missions.  Japan 
in  1876  made  the  first  complete  treaty 
with  her  neighbor  across  the  channel;  six 
years  later,  partly  through  the  aid  of  the 
great  Chinaman,  Li  Hung  Chang,  a  similar 
treaty  was  made  with  the  United  States.  In 
1884  the  Presbyterian  Board,  at  the  solici- 
tation of  Rijutei,  a  Korean  of  rank,  who  was 
converted  while  representing  his  government 
in  Japan,  established  a  station  at  Seoul,  H.  N. 
Allen,  M.D.,  a  medical  missionary  in  China, 
going  there.     The  American  resident  minis- 


KOREA,   THE  HERMIT  NATION.     109 

ter,  General  Foote,  gave  him  an  appointment 
as  physician  to  the  legation,  which  was  at 
once  protection  to  his  person  and  promise 
for  his  favorable  reception.  Dr.  Allen  was 
simply  tolerated  at  first;  but  during  a  re- 
volt in  Seoul  several  persons  of  rank  were 
wounded,  and  recovered  under  his  care;  he 
saved  the  life  of  the  King's  nephew,  Min 
Yong  Ik.  His  skilful  treatment,  so  in  con- 
trast with  the  methods  of  the  native  doctors 
and  surgeons  whom  he  found  trying  to 
stanch  the  wounds  with  wax,  won  the  ad- 
miration of  the  Koreans.  The  King's  nephew 
declared  that  they  believed  him  ''  sent  from 
heaven  to  cure  the  wounded."  The  gratitude 
of  the  King  for  his  medical  services  to  the 
royal  family  found  expression  in  the  encour- 
agement given  Dr.  Allen  to  build  a  govern- 
ment hospital,  which  the  King  names  Hay 
Min  Loy  House  of  Civihzed  Virtue,  and 
which  is  under  the  care  of  the  Presbyterian 
mission  and  the  supervision  of  Dr.  Allen. 
The  mission  finds  in  Rijutei  a  true  helper 
who  has  devoted  his  energies  to  giving  the 


no         THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

Koreans  the  New  Testament  in  their  own 
tongue.  Mr.  Arthington,  of  Leeds,  gave  the 
money  to  pay  for  printing  three  thousand 
copies  of  the  Gospels  of  Luke  and  John ;  and 
so  the  last  door  opens  for  the  admission  of 
the  gospel.  The  working  force  is  increased 
by  the  addition  of  Rev.  Mr.  Underwood 
and  Dr.  Herron  and  his  wife;  and  there  is 
every  indication  that  here,  as  in  Japan,  God 
is  going  to  work  a  great  change,  whereat 
we  shall  all  marvel.  Papal  missions,  with  all 
their  perversions  of  Christian  doctrine,  God 
used  to  prepare  the  way  in  part  for  the  en- 
trance of  the  gospel.  Japan,  waking  to  the 
knowledge  of  God,  has  been  a  help  to  Korean 
evangelization.  Fragments  of  evangelical 
truth,  brought  by  stealth  from  the  Sunrise 
Kingdom,  found  their  way  to  the  heart  of 
Rijutei.  Years  passed  by,  and  the  crisis 
came.  Rijutei  was  the  means  of  saving  the 
life  of  the  Queen,  and  so  earned  favor  with 
the  King.  At  once  he  went  to  Japan,  where 
he  learned  the  way  of  Christ  more  perfectly, 
and  so  was  led  to  undertake,  like  Luther,  to 


KOREA,   THE  HERMIT  NATION.     Ill 

give  his  own  countrymen  the  Word  of  God 
in  their  own  tongue.  Here  is  another  proof 
of  God's  seal  on  the  work  of  missions.  A 
few  years  ago  we  were  just  beginning  mis- 
sionary teaching  in  Japan ;  and  now  Japanese 
converts  are  proposing  to  go  to  Korea  as 
evangehsts ! 

We  are  in  danger  of  forgetting  that  there 
are  many  indirect  results  which  both  prove 
the  civilizing  power  of  the  gospel  and  prepare 
the  way  for  higher  triumphs  of  grace. 

Resultant  motion  is  the  joint  effect  of 
opposite  forces  acting,  for  example,  at  right 
angles,  and  communicating  to  a  given  body 
an  impulse  that  sends  it  in  a  direction  be- 
tween them,  following  a  diagonal  line.  May 
this  not  illustrate  the  result  of  the  opposing 
forces  of  Christianity  and  Paganism,  acting 
on  society  in  heathen  countries,  modifying, 
gradually  changing,  and  transforming  man- 
kind, giving  a  new  direction  to  thought,  con- 
science, habits  of  Hfe,  even  where  conversion 
is  not  wrought? 

Lord    Lawrence    said,  "  Christianity  every- 


112  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

where  imparts  dignity  to  labor,  sanctity  to 
marriage,  and  brotherhood  to  man.  Where 
it  does  not  convert,  it  checks ;  where  it  does 
not  renew,  it  refines;  where  it  does  not 
sanctify,  it  subdues." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   OTTOMAN   EMPIRE. 

HE  Ottoman  Empire,  before  the 
treaty  of  Berlin,  comprised  large 
tracts  of  contiguous  territory  in 
Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa.  The  possessions 
of  the  Sultan  were  divided  into  *'  mediate,*' 
or  those  whose  pashas  are  appointed  directly 
by  the  Sublime  Porte,  and  "  immediate,"  or 
those  whose  governors  are  selected  by  them- 
selves but  approved  by  the  Sultan  and  pay- 
ing tribute  to  him  as  the  higher  sovereign. 

Dr.  Kolb,  twenty-five  years  ago,  estimated 
the  adherents  of  various  religious  faiths  in 
European  and  Asiatic  Turkey  at  somewhat 
over  31,500,000,  of  whom  over  one  half  were 
Mussulmans,  about  one  third  Greeks  and 
Armenians,  about  one  fifth  Roman  Catholics, 
and    the    remainder    Maronites,    Nestorians, 


114         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

Jews,  Syrians,  etc.  In  no  country,  perhaps, 
beside  do  we  find  so  great  a  variety  of  races 
and  religions. 

The  predominant  influence  is,  however, 
Mohammedan,  as  also  is  the  State  relig- 
ion. Previous  to  1856,  a  Mohammedan  of 
Turkish  birth  who  became  a  Jew  or  a  Chris- 
tian rendered  himself  liable  to  the  death- 
penalty,  as  Mohammedanism  is  universally 
intolerant.  But  in  that  year  a  hatti-sherif^ 
or  hatti-Jmmaytim,  as  it  is  called,  was  secured, 
by  which  decree  the  Sultan  abolished  this 
penalty,  and  conceded  to  all  persons  within 
his  dominions  the  right  to  embrace  any 
religion. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  conduct  of 
the  British  East  India  Company,  and  of  the 
legitimacy  of  the  methods  by  which  an  Eng- 
lish empire  in  India  was  secured,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  God  has  used  both  that  com- 
pany and  that  empire  as  means  of  preparing 
a  level  and  open  highway  for  tlie  gospel. 
Turkey  lay  about  midway  between  the  Brit- 
ish Isles  and  the  East  Indies,  and  en  route 


THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIRE.  II5 

between  London  and  Calcutta.  Turkey  might 
at  any  time  take  the  attitude  of  resistance 
and  block  up  England's  way  between  the 
home  government  and  her  Indian  empire. 
A  sultan  who  could  lock  the  gates  of  the 
Golden  Horn,  obstruct  the  passage  across 
the  Isthmus  of  Suez  to  the  Red  Sea,  block- 
ade the  ports  of  Syria,  dispute  the  right  of 
transit  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Persian 
Gulf,  and  thus  compel  British  merchantmen 
to  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  reach 
India,  was  a  foe  who  must  be  made  an  ally. 
The  very  security  of  English  empire  in  India 
made  it  a  necessity  that  England  should  get 
and  hold  at  least  a  "  casting  vote  "  in  the  coun- 
cils of  the  Sublime  Porte.  Hence  Britain 
kept  her  ablest  diplomatist  there,  and  the 
wars  with  Egypt  in  1840,  with  Russia  in  1855 
at  the  Crimea,  and  with  Persia  the  year  later, 
as  well  as  many  measures  of  diplomacy  and 
state-craft,  were  prompted  by  the  necessity 
of  protecting  those  East  Indian  possessions, 
and  the  highway  that  led  to  them.  The  line 
of  communication  must  be  kept  open. 


Il6         THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

The  only  perfect  security  must  be  found 
in  the  abolition  of  the  persecuting  policy  of 
the  Moslem  powers.  When  the  Armenians 
were  approached  early  in  this  century  by 
missionary  effort,  the  Sultan  Mahmoud  II. 
encouraged  outrages  on  the  native  Protes- 
tants; and  not  until  his  army  was  defeated 
on  the  Plains  of  Nezib,  and  his  own  death 
followed,  did  the  exiles  dare  to  return. 

In  1843,  ^^  Armenian  who  had  embraced, 
and  then  renounced,  Mohammedanism,  was 
executed  at  Constantinople;  this  led  the 
Christian  governments  of  Europe  to  demand 
from  the  Sultan  a  pledge  that  no  such  insult 
to  the  Christian  religion  should  be  repeated. 
Four  years  later,  the  English  ambassador 
secured  imperial  action  constituting  the  na- 
tive Protestants  a  community,  separate  and 
independent;  and  in  1856  the  hatti-sherif 
with  the  signature  of  the  Sultan  formally 
announced  the  era  of  toleration. 

Whatever  may  be  said  as  to  the  enforce- 
ment of  this  imperial  decree  in  those  pasha- 
lics  that  are   under   the  Sultan's  immediate 


THE   OTTOMAN  EMPIRE,  11/ 

sway,  it  has  been  little  more  than  a  dead 
letter  in  more  remote  districts  where  bigoted 
Mussulmans  have  had  control.  Still  we  must 
not  forget  that  it  was  the  first  grand  step 
toward  the  establishment  of  religious  freedom 
and  the  encouragement  of  Christian  missions 
among  thirty  or  forty  millions  of  people. 

Turkey,  though  by  the  treaty  of  Berlin 
her  territory  in  Asia  and  Europe  is  reduced, 
still  sways  over  one  million  square  miles  and 
over  twenty  millions  of  people ;  and  by  six 
articles  in  that  treaty  the  subjects  of  the 
Turkish  government  are  assured  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty.  In  1878  Asiatic  Turkey 
came  under  a  British  protectorate,  and  a 
"  defensive  alliance  "  was  formed  between  the 
two  nations,  by  which  Britain  pledged  her 
help  **  by  force  of  arms  "  when  necessary,  and 
the  Sultan  pledged  himself  to  certain  re- 
forms, mainly  having  in  view  the  protection 
of  native  Christians  and  Christian  missiona- 
ries. As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  a  follower 
of  "■  the  Prophet"  espouses  the  Christian  faith 
only  at  peril  of  persecution,  and  practically 


Il8         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

it  is  not  the  Moslem  population  that  is 
reached  by  mission  effort,  but  mostly  the 
adherents  of  the  Greek,  Armenian,  and  Nes- 
torian  churches. 

And  yet  we  must  remember  that  even 
Mohammedanism,  which  has  most  stubbornly 
opposed  all  gospel  advance,  is  not  without 
hopeful  features. 

First,  it  is  iconoclastic.  From  the  begin- 
ning the  foe  of  idolatry,  it  is  in  sympathy 
with  our  simple  Protestant  worship. 

Secondly,  it  is  monotheistic,  affirming  one 
God,  and  drawing  a  large  part  of  its  doc- 
trines from  the  religion  of  the  Old  Testament. 

Thirdly,  God  has  made  it,  all  unconsciously 
and  unwillingly,  the  handmaid  of  the  gospel. 
The  Arabic  is  the  sacred  language  of  the 
Koran,  and  curiously  enough  the  Moslem 
faith  enjoins  upon  all  true  followers  that 
they  be  able  to  read  that  sacred  book,  and 
yet  forbids  its  translation  into  any  other 
tongue.  Hence  whatever  be  a  Mohamme- 
dan's native  language,  he  aspires  to  read  the 
Arabic  because  it  is  the  only  sacred  dialect 


THE   OTTOMAN  EMPIRE.  II9 

of  his  religion  and  of  his  Bible.  Now,  who 
shall  doubt  a  providential  purpose  in  all 
this? 

There  is  no  doubt  that,  notwithstanding 
all  the  hostility  of  the  Mohammedan  power 
to  evangelical  religion,  and  the  antagonism 
of  Oriental  churches  that  have  a  name  to 
live  but  are  practically  dead,  the  gradual 
transformation  of  the  whole  community  jus- 
tifies the  concentration  of  large  missionary 
forces  in  the  Ottoman  Empire. 

The  influence  of  enlightened  Christian 
governments  is  permeating  this  whole  do- 
minion over  which  is  unfurled  the  green  flag 
of  the  Prophet.  The  Turkish  courts  have 
been  a  farce,  scarcely  equalled  in  history. 
The  Code  Napoleon  displaces  the  Moslem 
code  in  moulding  the  administration  of  law. 
The  principles  of  political  economy  are 
coming  to  be  recognized  and  adopted  as 
the  basis  of  government. 

Education  is  making  rapid  progress.  There 
are  graded  schools,  with  improved  text-books ; 
and  even  girls  are  now  finding  an  open  door 


120  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

to  the  higher  education ;  but  the  supply  is 
far  from  equal  to  the  demand.  The  sluggish 
intellect  of  the  Turks  is  awaking,  and  now  is 
the  time  to  take  possession  of  its  aroused 
faculties.  For  years  the  one  chief  source  of 
reading  matter  to  that  people  was  the  Chris- 
tian missionary  press ;  by  that  the  Word  of 
God  has  been  spread  through  the  empire, 
and  over  a  thousand  different  books  and 
newspapers  beside.  There  is  a  nominal  cen- 
sorship to  which  books  and  tracts  are  subject, 
and  which  just  now  there  is  an  effort  making 
to  render  more  strict;  but  practically  it  has 
not  hindered  the  publication  and  circulation 
of  Protestant  literature. 

For  nearly  fifty  years  the  American  Board 
has  been  working  to  infuse  new  spiritual 
life  into  the  Oriental  churches ;  and  now 
the  hour  seems  to  have  come  when  God 
opens  the  door  for  direct  labor  among  the 
Moslem  population.  Owing  to  the  abolition 
of  the  death-penalty,  persecution  for  religious 
opinion  is  now  illegal.  The  law  of  the  Koran 
punishes    apostasy    with    death,    but    treaty 


THE   OTTOMAN  EMPIRE.  121 

obligations  practically  annul  the  Koran  ;  and 
since  the  case  of  Selim  Effendi  in  1857  the 
government  officials  have  in  numerous  cases 
been  compelled  to  decide  that  converts  to 
Christianity  were  not  to  be  molested,  accord- 
ing to  the  provisions  of  the  "•  treaty  of  Paris  " 
in   1856. 

Rev.  J.  K.  Greene,  D.D.,  of  Constantinople, 
says  that  the  scandal  of  Oriental  Christianity 
has  largely  ceased  to  hinder  the  conversion 
of  the  Turks.  The  introduction  of  a  purer 
evangelical  faith  and  life  contrasting  with  the 
idolatrous  worship  and  immoral  practices  of 
these  nominal  Christians  has  enabled  these 
Turks  to  see  that  these  scandalous  teachings 
and  lives  are  not  the  fruit,  but  the  perver- 
sions, of  the  religion  of  Jesus. 

Christian  schools  are  not  restricted,  as  the 
colleges  at  Constantinople,  Beirut,  Smyrna, 
Harpoot,  and  Aintab  testify,  with  six  female 
seminaries  at  other  places,  established  by  the 
American  Board. 

The  ''  Star  in  the  East "  appeals  for  the 
immediate  occupation  of  Constantinople  by 


122  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

ample  missionary  forces,  as  ''  the  capital  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire,  the  seat  of  government; 
as  the  heart  of  the  Moslem  faith  whose  pul- 
sations are  felt  in  the  continents  of  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa,  and  reach  the  distant  Soudan 
and  India;  which  rules  over  Palestine  and 
affects  the  destinies  of  the  Jews.  Its  inhabi- 
tants represent  the  various  nationalities  on 
whom  the  Holy  Ghost  was  outpoured  at 
Pentecost,  and  who  anciently  were  comprised 
under  the  great  Byzantine  Empire.  It  is 
now  in  a  condition  of  crisis;  the  tide  of 
opportunities  is  more  favorable  now  than  it 
ever  has  been  for  evangelistic  work.  The 
races  once  enlightened  by  Chrysostom,  Greg- 
ory, and  Athanasius,  require  again  the  living 
Word,  and  are  anxious  to  raise  their  fallen 
candlestick.  The  Christian  workers  are  ready 
to  help,  and  it  is  consequently  of  the  utmost 
importance  as  a  rallying  centre." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   DARK   CONTINENT. 

j«Jj|OW  Strangely,  yet  how  rapidly,  God 
has  opened  the  doors  of  the  Dark 
Continent !  Only  a  few  years  ago, 
when  we  were  studying  geography,  the  vast 
district  in  the  interior  was  marked  on  our 
maps  "  unexplored."  We  knew  little  of 
Africa  except  its  six  thousand  miles  of  sea- 
coast,  and  its  great  desert,  and  that  narrow 
border  of  country  which  lay  next  the  ocean 
or  lined  the  Nile.  The  heroic  Livingstone, 
entering  from  the  south,  seeking  to  know 
something  of  the  unknown  and  open  a  path 
for  the  missionary,  after  forty  attacks  of  fever 
died  on  his  knees  in  a  grass  hut  amid  the 
swamps  near  Lake  Bangvveolo,  early  in  May, 
1873.     His  death  sounded  the  new  signal  for 


124         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

the  evangelization  of  Africa.  LIvingstonia 
is  the  first-fruits  of  that  dying  prayer  for 
Africa.  The  churches  of  Scotland  united  in 
its  foundation,  and  in  May,  1875,  the  party 
of  missionaries  left  Scotland,  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  Zambesi,  and  put  together  their 
mission  vessel,  —  the  steam-launch  trans- 
ported in  parts,  —  and  in  October  the  ''Ilala'* 
steamed  into  Lake  Nyassa.  The  missionary 
band,  with  headquarters  at  Bandawe,  began 
to  survey  the  lake,  erect  buildings,  make 
roads,  and  till  the  soil;  to  establish  medical 
dispensaries,  with  competent  physicians;  to 
gather  children  into  schools;  to  give  the 
people  the  Scriptures  and  a  Christian  liter- 
ature in  their  own  tongue ;  and  to  preach  the 
gospel,  gather  converts,  organize  churches, 
and  educate  a  native  ministry. 

A  stupendous  work  to  undertake !  No 
wonder  Professor  Drummond  confessed  his 
scepticism  as  to  the  results  of  such  a  scheme 
amid  such  a  people.  Yet  he  himself  sat 
down  at  Dr.  Laws's  station  with  the  seven 
men  and  two  women  who  were  first-fruits  of 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT,  1 25 

that  mission,  and  with  them  partook  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  saw  in  them  the  promise 
of  Africa's  regeneration. 

Livingstone's  death  set  in  motion  many 
other  agencies  for  the  evangehzation  of  the 
Dark  Continent,  and  among  them  all  none  is 
to  be  more  emphasized  than  Livingstone's 
influence  on  Stanley.  In  a  recent  interview, 
this  distinguished  explorer  said :  — 

"  I  have  been  in  Africa  for  seventeen  years, 
and  I  have  never  met  a  man  who  would  kill  me 
if  I  folded  my  hands.  What  has  been  wanted, 
and  what  I  have  been  endeavoring  to  ask  for  the 
poor  Africans,  has  been  the  good  offices  of  Chris- 
tians, ever  since  Livingstone  taught  me,  during 
those  four  months  that  I  was  with  him.  In  18 71 
I  went  to  him  as  prejudiced  as  the  biggest  atheist 
in  London.  To  a  reporter  and  correspondent, 
such  as  I,  who  had  only  to  deal  with  wars,  mass 
meetings,  and  political  gatherings,  sentimental 
matters  were  entirely  out  of  my  province.  But 
there  came  for  me  a  long  time  for  reflection.  I 
was  out  there  away  from  a  worldly  world.  I  saw 
this  solitary  old  man  there,  and  asked  myself, 
*  How  on  earth  does  he  stop  here  ?  Is  he  cracked, 
or  what?     What  is  it  that  inspires   him?'     For 


126  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

months  after  we  met  I  simply  found  myself  listen- 
ing to  him,  wondering  at  the  old  man  carrying  out 
all  that  was  said  in  the  Bible :  '  Leave  all  things 
and  follow  me.'  But  little  by  little  his  sympathy 
for  others  became  contagious  ;  my  sympathy  was 
aroused ;  seeing  his  piety,  his  gentleness,  his  zeal, 
his  earnestness,  and  how  he  went  quietly  about 
his  business,  I  was  converted  by  him,  although 
he  had  not  tried  to  do  it.  How  sad  that  the  good 
old  man  should  have  died  so  soon  !  How  joyful 
he  would  have  been  if  he  could  have  seen  what 
has  since  happened  there  ! " 

No  sooner  had  Livingstone's  death  be- 
come known  than  this  intrepid  explorer  de- 
termined to  become  his  successor  in  opening 
up  Africa  to  civilization.  Entering  at  Zan- 
zibar in  1874,  in  1877  —  after  a  thousand 
days  —  he  emerged  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Congo,  and  the  greatest  step  in  the  explora- 
tion of  equatorial  Africa  was  thus  taken.  So 
soon  as  the  news  reached  England,  the  next 
vessel  that  sailed  for  Africa  bore  mission- 
aries. They  began  to  plant  stations  from 
the  Congo's  mouth  to  the  equator,  as  well 
as  about  the  great   lakes  of  the  East;   and 


THE  DARK   CONTINENT.  1 27 

now  all  Christian  denominations  seem  con- 
centrating upon  the  Congo  basin  to  carry- 
on  with  speed  and  vigor  the  work  of  evan- 
gelization, and  fulfil  the  prophecy  of  Krapf, 
that  ''  a  chain  of  missions "  would  yet  be 
estabhshed  there  between  the  East  and  the 
West. 

The  explorations  of  a  quarter  of  a  century- 
having  unveiled  Africa,  the  work  of  explora- 
tion is  so  rapidly  going  on  that  the  maps  of 
yesterday  are  obsolete  to-day,  and  nothing 
but  the  oiitlme  of  the  continent  is  as  it  was 
twenty-five  years  ago.  At  least  five  great 
lakes  are  now  discovered  and  surveyed,  — 
Victoria  Nyanza,  Albert  Nyanza,  Tanganyika, 
Nyassa,  and  Bangweolo,  —  which  remind  us 
of  our  five  great  American  lakes.  Five  great 
rivers  run  to  the  four  points  of  the  com.pass, 
—  the  Zambesi,  Nile,  Congo,  Niger,  and 
Orange,  —  with  many  great  tributaries,  pro- 
viding ten  thousand  miles  of  river  roadway. 
Victor  Hugo's  prediction  is  already  true,  — 
that  in  the  coming  century  Africa  would  be 
the  cynosure  of  all  eyes. 


128  THE    CRISIS   OF  MISSIONS. 

Perhaps  no  more  wonderful  occurrence  has 
been  recorded  since  Pentecost  than  the  Ber- 
lin Conference  that,  in  the  closing  weeks  of 
1884,  met  to  determine  the  Constitution  of 
the  Congo  Free  State.  King  Leopold  of  Bel- 
gium, losing  his  dear  son,  adopted  Africa 
with  her  sable  children  as  his  own,  out  of  his 
royal  fortune  giving  a  princely  sum  annu- 
ally for  her  sake.  What  an  event  was  that 
when,  under  the  presidency  of  Prince  Bis- 
marck, fifteen  nations,  by  their  representa- 
tives, assembled  to  form  the  "  International 
Association  of  the  Congo  "  !  Article  VI.  con- 
tains the  pith  of  the  whole  Declaration :  — 

"  All  the  powers  exercising  sovereign  rights, 
or  having  influence  in  the  said  territories,  under- 
take to  watch  over  the  preservation  of  the  native 
races  and  the  amelioration  of  the  moral  and  ma- 
terial conditions  of  their  existence,  and  to  co- 
operate in  the  suppression  of  slavery  and,  above 
all,  of  the  slave-trade ;  they  will  protect  and 
encourage,  without  distinction  of  nationality  or 
creed,  all  institutions  and  enterprises — religious, 
scientific,  or  charitable  —  established- and  organ- 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT.  1 29 

ized  for  these  objects,  or  tending  to  educate  the 
natives  and  lead  them  to  understand  and  appreci- 
ate the  advantages  of  civihzation.  Christian  mis- 
sionaries, men  of  science,  explorers  and  their 
escorts  and  collections,  to  be  equally  the  object 
of  special  protection.  Liberty  of  conscience  and 
religious  toleration  are  expressly  guaranteed  to 
the  natives,  as  well  as  to  the  inhabitants  and  for- 
eigners. The  free  and  public  exercise  of  every 
creed,  the  right  to  erect  religious  buildings,  and 
to  organize  missions  belonging  to  every  creed, 
shall  be  subject  to  no  restriction  or  impediment 
whatever.'^ 

And  who  are  the  national  parties  to  this 
most  remarkable  compact  for  civil  and  re- 
ligious freedom?  Not  only  Protestant  pow- 
ers, like  the  United  States,  Great  Britain, 
Prussia,  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden,  but 
the  Greek  Church,  as  represented  by  Russia; 
the  Papal  Church,  as  represented  by  Austria, 
Belgium,  Spain,  Portugal,  France,  and  Italy; 
and  even  the  Moslem  power,  as  represented 
by  Turkey  !  The  grandeur  of  the  event  over- 
whelms us !  When,  in  the  history  of  the 
world  before,  have  Protestant,  Greek,  Papal, 
9 


130  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

and  Moslem  powers  conferred  and  combined 
to  assure  civil  and  religious  freedom  to  a 
new  state  just  emerging  out  of  obscurity 
and  semi-barbarism  into  an  enlightened  civ- 
ilization? Were  Galileo  now  alive,  he  would 
certainly  say,  of  this  world,  ''and  yet  it 
moves  I " 

And  what  is  this  "  Congo  Free  State," 
thus  suddenly  constituted  a  new  empire  of 
freedom?  It  is  a  rich  area  of  one  and  a  half 
million  square  miles,  one  of  the  richest  coun- 
tries of  the  globe,  with  the  noble  Congo  and  its 
many  navigable  affluents,  presenting  a  water 
highway  of  from  five  to  eight  thousand  miles, 
and  connecting  with  great  lakes  whose  shore 
lines  would  measure  three  thousand  more; 
with  a  population  of  fifty  million  people; 
with  marvellous  variety  of  scenery,  climate, 
product,  fauna  and  flora.  When,  in  1877, 
Stanley  completed  his  tour  of  Central  Africa, 
he  had  been  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine 
days  from  Zanzibar.  He  could  now,  as  he 
says,  "  in  forty-three  days  after  leaving  Glas- 
gow, be  housed  in  his  own  station  at  Stanley 


THE  DARK  CONTINENT.  13I 

Falls,  and  instead  of  running  a  gauntlet  for 
his  life,  from  the  day  he  reached  Vivi  his 
ascent  of  the  river  would  be  one  continued 
ovation." 

Well  may  all  eyes  turn  to  Africa.  God  is 
disclosing  by  His  providence  the  great  min- 
eral, metallic,  and  vegetable  resources  of  the 
interior.  The  ostrich  is  more  profitable 
than  the  South  Down  mutton ;  the  elephant- 
tusks  will  supply  the  demand  for  ivory ;  and 
so,  through  the  very  avarice  of  men  and  the 
higher  love  of  science,  the  great  unknown 
continent  is  to  be  crossed  with  a  net-work  of 
railways,  penetrated  in  every  direction  by 
travellers  and  explorers,  settled  by  adven- 
turers and  far-sighted  traders,  and  planted 
with  Christian  missions.  Already  steam- 
boats sail  the  rivers  and  great  lakes;  roads 
are  being  built  and  railways  constructed,  and 
a  submarine  cable  laid.  Before  this  manu- 
script can  take  the  printed  form,  changes  will 
have  taken  place  which  make  this  chapter 
out  of  date ! 

If  this  is  a  wide  door  of  opportunity,  what 


132  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS 

shall  be  said  of  the  obligation?  In  Stanley's 
journey  of  seven  thousand  miles  from  Zanzi- 
bar to  Banana  he  saw  neither  a  Christian 
disciple  nor  a  man  who  had  even  heard  the 
gospel  message ! 


CHAPTER  XV. 


PAPAL   LANDS. 


OD   has,   in  just   as  wonderful  ways, 
thrown  open  wide  the  door  to  the 
dominions  of  the  Pope,  both  on  this 
continent  and  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 

As  to  Europe,  it  is  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  ages  that  changes  so  radical  and  revolu- 
tionary should  have  taken  place.  In  the  age 
succeeding  the  Council  of  Trent  papal  Eu- 
rope meant  the  oldest  and  grandest  of  mon- 
archies :  the  German  Empire,  the  political 
and  military  centre ;  France,  the  intellectual 
and  social  centre;  Spain  and  Portugal,  the 
"  centre  of  expansive  force ;  "  Italy,  the  his- 
torical and  ecclesiastical  centre  of  all.  Papal 
Europe  then  represented  all  the  old,  polished 
languages,  and  held  every  great  historical 
city,  ancient  university,  and  every  influential 


134         THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

centre  of  letters,  art,  and  civilization,  except 
those  developed  after  the  Reformation. 

At  the  time  of  the  Reformation  the  control 
of  Europe  was  held  in  the  firm  grasp  of 
Rome.  Great  moral  and  political  revolutions 
have  cut  off  England,  Scotland,  Holland, 
Denmark,  Sweden,  Prussia,  and  part  of  Ger- 
many and  Switzerland ;  and  even  the  coun- 
tries that  have  not  thrown  off  allegiance  to 
the  Pope  have  undergone  great  change. 
Papacy  has  lost  beyond  calculation  or  resto- 
ration, and  nowhere  more  surely  than  in  Italy 
itself.  "  Papal  Europe  "  has  now  a  different 
meaning.  Protestantism  has  been  and  is 
steadily  gaining  in  numbers,  wealth,  prestige, 
and  in  power,  intellectually,  morally,  politi- 
cally, and  spiritually. 

The  balance  of  power  is  reversed  since  1789. 
At  the  period  of  the  Reformation  Spain 
and  Portugal  and  Austria  were  the  dominant 
powers  in  Europe.  Spain,  that  made  Eng- 
land quake  at  the  terrors  of  her  "  Invincible 
Armada,"  had  three  times,  and  some  say 
six  times,  the  population  of  England;   now 


PAPAL  LANDS.  135 

England,  after  colonizing  India,  America,  and 
Australia,  has  twice  the  population  of  Spain. 
During  fifty  years  past  England  has  gained 
119  per  cent;  Prussia,  y2\  Austria,  27; 
France,  12;  or,  taking  excess  of  births 
over  deaths,  if  France  be  represented  by  i, 
Austria  will  be  represented  by  3,  Russia  by 
5  ;  but  Prussia  by  6,  and  Britain  by  8 !  In 
1825,  Protestant  population  was  to  Papal  as 
3  to  13,  and  in  1875  as  i  to  3, 

Italy  has  undergone  transformations  which 
are  incredible  to  one  who  has  not  witnessed 
them.  Where  two  thirds  of  the  people  could 
not  read  or  write,  education  is  now  com- 
pulsory. Where  the  very  conscience  of  the 
people  seemed  paralyzed,  and  the  sense 
of  personal  responsibility  and  accountability 
dead,  we  have  seen  the  Church  party  in 
Rome  opening  numerous  schools,  issuing 
cheap  literature  in  large  quantities,  establish- 
ing soup-kitchens,  relieving  poverty,  and  in- 
forming ignorance.  Where  the  Pope  swayed 
with  an  absolute  sceptre,  Pius  IX.  was  a  pris- 
oner  in   the  Vatican,  bewailincr   the    loss    of 


136  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

temporal  power;  and  it  is  obvious  to  the 
world,  if  not  to  the  College  of  Cardinals,  that 
the  spiritual  sceptre  also  is  broken,  or  at 
least  very  loosely  held.  The  Pope  will  never 
again  make  emperors  bow  as  penitents  before 
him,  or  torture  heretics  in  the  dungeons  of 
the  Inquisition. 

The  ignorance  which  is  the  mother  of 
superstition  is  giving  way  before  the  intel- 
ligence that  is  the  handmaid  of  faith  and 
devotion.  In  fact,  as  to  the  papacy,  we  mark 
a  grand  crash  in  the  whole  wall  which  has  shut 
out  the  Bible  and  the  pure  gospel  from  the 
people.  It  is  like  the  faUing  of  the  ramparts 
of  Jericho  before  the  trumpet-blast  of  Joshua's 
hosts ;  and  wherever  the  army  of  God  faces 
Romanism,  every  man  may  march  into  the 
breach  straight  before  him  and  take  the  city. 

We  can  hardly  credit  it  that  twenty-two 
Protestant  churches  ^  and  a  score  of  Protes- 

1  We  find  this  paragraph  in  a  late  paper  :  — 

"  The   foundations    for    the    twenty-second   Protestant 

church  have  just   been    laid  in  the  city  of  Rome,    Italy. 

Most   people  will  be  surprised  to  know  that  there  are  so 

many  Protestant  churches  in  Rome.     It  is  only  fair  to  say, 


PAPAL  LANDS.  137 

tant  schools  are  now  found  within  the  walls  of 
the  Eternal  City;  that  Rome  itself  is  open  to 
the  circulation  of  the  Bible  and  the  preach- 
ing of  the  cross ;  that  under  the  shadows  of 
St.  Peter's  and  the  Vatican  Protestants  may 
worship  unmolested  and  carry  on  the  work 
of  evangelism ;  that  the  Bible-carts  roll  out  of 
Madrid,  and  in  the  very  Spain  whose  name  is 
the  historic  synonym  of  the  Inquisition  the 
people  should  so  clamor  for  the  Word  of  God 
that  copies  cannot  be  printed  fast  enough  to 
meet  the  demand ;  that  in  France,  that  right 
arm  of  the  papal  power  for  centuries,  land  of 
the  exiled  Huguenots  and  of  awful  St.  Bar- 
tholomew, both  French  Chambers  order  elim- 
ination of  priests  and  nuns  from  government 
schools  within  five  years ;  and  that  the  great- 
est work  of  popular  evangelization  ever  known 
should  now  be  in  progress,  and  the  govern- 
ment aid  and  encourage  the  McAU  stations, 
as  the  best  possible  police  to  restrain  and  re- 

however,  that  they  are  mainly  intended  for  the  foreign 
residents  in  that  city,  although  some  of  them  are  engaged 
more  or  less  in  the  work  of  proselyting  from  the  Roman 
Church." 


138  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

form  that  mercurial  people  whose  very  blood, 
like  the  Irishman's,  Is  quicksilver. 

Savonarola's  dying  cry  was,  '*0  Italy,  I 
warn  thee  that  only  Christ  can  save  thee ! 
The  time  for  the  Holy  Ghost  has  not  come, 
but  It  win !  "  What  If  that  martyr  of  Fer- 
rara  could  have  seen  Italy's  history  from 
1848  until  now!  Where  in  1866  a  Protestant 
preacher  was  expelled  for  preaching,  twenty 
years  later  Leo  XIII.  says  to  his  cardinals, 
''With  deep  regret  and  profound  anguish  we 
behold  the  impiety  with  which  Protestants 
freely  and  with  Impunity  propagate  their  her- 
etical doctrines,  and  attack  the  most  august 
and  sacred  doctrines  of  our  holy  religion,  — 
even  here  at  Rome,  the  centre  of  the  faith 
and  the  zeal  of  the  universal  and  infallible 
teacher  of  the  Church  !  " 

What  we  may  now  see,  or  have  seen,  in 
Italy  and  Spain  and  France,  is  but  a  type  of 
what  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  is  true  of  all 
lands  held  under  the  nominal  control  of  the 
papacy.  The  ''twelve  hundred  and  sixty" 
days  of  dominion  seem  to  have  expired.     No 


PAPAL  LANDS.  1 39 

man  can  foresee  the  changes  that  within  ten 
years  may  yet  take  place.  There  are  many 
indications  that  there  is  to  be  a  Reformed 
CathoHc  Church,  on  a  great  scale,  in  which 
those  who  within  the  papal  communion  hold 
to  evangehcal  truth  shall  find  a  refuge  from 
companionship  and  complicity  with  error  and 
heresy  and  iniquity.  Rev.  W.  F.  Bainbridge, 
whose  *'  World  Tour  "  did  so  much  for  mis- 
sions, met  in  Asia  many  Catholic  priests  who 
seem  to  have  been  influenced  by  the  accom- 
panying evangelical  missions;  and  there  are 
many  signs  in  the  British  provinces  and  in 
our  own  republic  that  Roman  Catholicism, 
in  close  contact  with  Protestantism  and  re- 
mote from  the  papal  centres,  is  being  essen- 
tially modified  by  such  contact.  The  future 
may  show  us  a  great  exodus  from  Rome  of 
those  who  ''  come  out  of  her,  that  they  be 
not  partakers  of  her  sins  nor  receive  of  her 
plagues ;  "  nay,  even  a  reconstructed  church, 
that  casts  off  the  cerements  of  the  sepulchre, 
and  comes  forth  in  a  new  life  of  purified 
faith ! 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MEXICO,    LAND   OF  THE  AZTECS. 

EXICO,  our  near  neighbor,  is  larger 
than  all  of  the  United  States  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  having  a  total 
area  of  about  eight  hundred  thousand  square 
miles,  and  a  population  of  at  least  ten  mil- 
lions, —  one  fifth  of  whom  are  of  pure  Euro- 
pean blood,  nearly  one  fifth  native,  and  the 
rest  mixed. 

The  great  cordillera  of  the  Andes,  which 
traverses  South  America  and  is  depressed  at 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  then  divides  into  two 
great  arms,  —  one  to  the  east,  along  the  Gulf, 
one  to  the  west,  along  the  Pacific,  enclosing 
a  high  table-land,  crossed  by  sierras,  broad- 
est and  highest  at  Mexico  City.  This  remark- 
able country,  though  in  the  torrid  zone,  has 
therefore   its   hot   and    cold    and   temperate 


MEXICO,   LAND   OF   THE  AZTECS.    141 

regions,  as  climate  depends  on  altitude  rather 
than  latitude;  and  the  Spanish  language  is 
spoken  by  63,690,000  people,  second  in  im- 
portance only  to  the  English  as  the  vehicle 
of  commerce  and  communication  between 
man  and   man. 

Mexico  is  rich  in  resources,  its  wealth 
mainly  lying  in  its  mines.  Humboldt  es- 
timated their  yield  from  1521  to  1803  at 
$2,000,000,000,  and  from  the  time  of  Cortes, 
at  six  times  that  sum.  The  Spanish  kings 
held  the  mines  as  royal  property,  citizens 
being  allowed  to  work  th&m  by  paying  one 
fifth  to  the  government;  but  all  such  tax  is 
now  remitted,  and  all  the  six  races — whites, 
Indians,  negroes,  mestizoes,  mulattoes,  and 
zamboes  —  are  on  a  footing  of  legal  and 
political  equality. 

The  history  of  Mexico  is  a  fascinating  ro- 
mance :  the  Toltecs,  from  the  seventh  to 
the  eleventh  century,  builders  of  great  cities 
whose  ruins  still  exist,  true  founders  of  Mexi- 
can civilization ;  the  Chichemccs,  rude  and 
barbarous,  who  succeeded  them ;  the  Aztecs, 


142  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

who  came  in  about  the  beginning  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  and  whose  dominion  at 
the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America  spanned 
the  continent.  The  Aztec  government  was 
an  elective  monarchy,  and  the  laws  were 
spread  before  the  people  by  hieroglyphical 
paintings,  and  in  the  opinion  of  Prescott 
showed  high  appreciation  of,  and  profound 
respect  for,  principles  of  morality. 

The  "•  Halls  of  the  Montezumas "  repre- 
sented Schlegel's  poetic  conception  of  frozen 
music."  In  one  palace-room  three  thousand 
guests  might  gather,  and  on  the  roof  there 
was  room  for  a  tournament.  The  temple 
excelled  the  Kremlin  of  Moscow  for  gran- 
deur and  elaborateness. 

Their  religion  was  a  compound  of  poetry 
and  cruelty.  They  worshipped  a  plurality 
of  gods,  but  held  one  supreme  lord;  built 
pyramidal  temples,  or  Teocallis^  principal  of 
which  is  the  great  Pyramid  at  Cholula ;  and 
had  altars  for  human  victims.  They  believed 
in  three  separate  future  states:  the  wicked 
they  consigned  to  everlasting  darkness ;  those 


MEXICO,  LAND   OF  THE  AZTECS.    143 

who  died  of  certain  diseases,  to  a  negative, 
half  torpid  state;  and  the  good  and  brave 
they  admitted  to  a  sunlit  sphere,  whence  they 
went  to  animate  the  pure  white  clouds  and 
singing-birds  of  paradise. 

They  cased  with  brick  or  stone  their  solid 
pyramidal  temples,  and  by  outer  stairs  as- 
cended to  the  sanctuaries  on  the  summit. 
Human  sacrifices  were  adopted  in  the  four- 
teenth century,  and  grew  from  twenty  thou- 
sand to  fifty  thousand  annually.  The  priest 
tore  out  the  heart  and  cast  it  at  the  idol's 
feet,  and  the  body  was  devoured  at  the  feast. 

Mexico  has  been  cursed  by  Romish  super- 
stition; a  corrupt  and  avaricious  priesthood 
built  grand  cathedrals,  convents,  and  palaces, 
secured  exemption  from  taxation,  and  so  the 
poor  and  priest-ridden  people  had  to  pay  the 
whole  cost  of  government  as  well  as  support 
the  ecclesiastics.  The  tyranny  of  the  Church 
demanded  such  fees  that  even  marriage  was 
too  costly  for  the  poor,  and  perhaps  half  of 
the  population  living  as  husband  and  wife 
have  no  legal  relations  as  such. 


144         THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

The  clergy  in  1852  numbered  nearly  five 
thousand ;  there  were  fifty-eight  nunneries 
and  fifteen  hundred  nuns.  The  immense 
revenues  formerly  went  to  the  clergy,  the 
total  amount  collected  in  1862  being  esti- 
mated at  nearly  $8,000,000 ;  and  the  property 
of  the  clergy  was  estimated  at  $300,000,000, 
or  one  half  the  whole  real  estate,  —  making 
a  total  income  of  $20,000,000. 

The  Church  was  divorced  from  the  State 
Sept.  25,  1873.  There  remained  no  longer 
an  established  religion ;  marriage  was  made 
a  civil  contract;  real  estate,  guarded;  mo- 
nastic orders  received  a  fatal  blow;  and  the 
downfall  of  Romanism  began,  though  the 
priests  denounced  the  new  legislation  and 
threatened  excommunication. 

The  Bible,  which  in  1847  ^^^^  been  brought 
in  by  our  armies  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
became  the  pioneer  of  this  new  civilization. 
One  man  brought  one  from  Toluca.  The 
reading  of  that  book  was  the  means  of  con- 
verting himself,  his  whole  family,  and  his 
neighbors,  till  without  knowing  it  they  formed 


MEXICO,  LAND  OF  THE  AZTECS.    145 

among  themselves  a  Protestant  church,  and 
from  the  family  of  that  one  man  three  Prot- 
estant preachers  came ! 

Another,  in  Almacate,  became  the  owner 
of  a  Bible,  and  studied  it  daily.  When  dying, 
the  priest  came  to  ''  confess "  him ;  but  he 
who  had  learned  that  ''the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin"  had  already 
been  delivered  from  fear  of  death,  and  tri- 
umphantly replied,  *'  I  need  no  purgatory !  " 

The  work  of  Protestant  missionaries,  though 
met  by  opposition  and  even  persecution,  finds 
a  people  prepared.  At  the  dedication  of  a 
church  in  Michoacan,  in  Rodriguez'  house, 
eight  hundred  persons  gathered,  coming  from 
a  distance  of  from  fifteen  to  forty  miles. 
Senor  Torcada  wrote  from  Titacuaro,  ''The 
great  majority  are  casting  away  idolatry  and 
worshipping  God." 

The  new  government  is  the  ally  of  reform, 
and,  to  an  extent,  even  of  evangelization; 
God  permitted  Maximilian  to  lay,  uncon- 
sciously, the  foundation  of  a  revolt  from 
despotism  and  Romanism.     Witness  the  con- 


146  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

version  of  monasteries  and  other  sacred  build- 
ings to  secular  purposes;  the  overturning 
of  religious  orders,  so  that  there  is  neither 
''  monk,  nun,  friar,  nor  Jesuit."  The  Palace 
of  the  Inquisition  is  turned  into  a  medical 
school,  a  convent  into  a  law  school,  a  mon- 
astery into  a  training  school,  and  Catholic 
churches  into  Protestant  chapels.  Witness 
the  confiscation  of  ecclesiastical  property, 
and  its  appropriation  to  educational  pur- 
poses; the  establishment  of  five  thousand 
schools;  and  the  general  trend  of  events  in 
the  direction  of  a  higher,  nobler,  better  life 
for  Mexico. 

Business  enterprise  is  building  a  vast  rail- 
road and  telegraph  system,  as  a  scaffolding 
for  the  church  of  God.  Mexico  is  opening 
to  trade  and  travel.  A  people,  in  fetters  for 
centuries,  have  had  the  bastile  of  superstition 
demolished  before  their  eyes,  and  are  dazzled 
by  the  new  light  that  is  breaking  upon  them. 
But  here  again  delay  risks  every  tiling!  Will 
not  the  Protestant  church  of  America  awake 
to  the  duty  of  the  hour? 


MEXICO,  LAND  OF  THE  AZTECS,    147 

Into  this  open  door  of  Mexico  American 
Christians  especially  ought  eagerly  to  press 
and  push  evangelizing  forces.  This  great 
land  is  near,  needy,  neglected,  but  hopeful. 
If  their  newly  found  liberties  are  to  be  a  per- 
manent blessing,  intelligence  and  industry 
and  evangelization  must  displace  ignorance 
and  idleness  and  superstition.  For  four  hun- 
dred years  they  have  been  victims  of  slavery 
and  oppression,  and,  by  the  confession  of  a 
Catholic  bishop,  not  fifteen  per  cent  of  the 
people  could  read  or  write.  They  rise  every 
morning  and  look  toward  the  sunrise  for  the 
second  coming  of  Montezuma,  whom  they 
connect  with  the  golden  age  of  the  past 
and  of  the  future.  What  a  blessing  if  they 
can  be  enabled  to  see  advancing  from  the 
east,  not  Montezuma,  but  the  Redeemer  of 
the  world,  heralded  by  the  Christians  of  this 
republic ! 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

SOUTH  AMERICAN   STATES. 

HAT  has  been  written  of  Mexico 
may,  to  a  great  extent,  be  written 
of  the  entire  southern  half  of  this 
continent.  That  wind  bearing  southwest 
and  that  flight  of  paroquets  that  provi- 
dentially diverted  Columbus  from  the  main- 
land of  North  America,  at  first  to  the 
Bahamas,  and  so,  in  his  third  voyage,  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Orinoco;  that  divine  interpo- 
sition that  swept  the  caravel  of  Amerigo 
Vespucci  at  first  to  Paria  and  afterward  to 
Brazil,  —  left  the  continent  of  North  America 
to  be  discovered  by  John  Cabot  and  Sebas- 
tian Cabot,  the  vassals  of  the  English  kings, 
Henry  VH.  and  Edward  VI.  The  same  hand 
of  God  which  thus  gave  this  land  to  England 
and  Protestantism,   permitted   the    southern 


SOUTH  AMERICAN  STATES,        149 

continent  to  come  under  the  sway  of  papal 
crowns.  And  so  this  vast  peninsula  with  its 
fourteen  States  waits  to  be  "  discovered " 
anew  by  Protestant  Christians  and  evangel- 
ized. The  conditions  have  been  strikingly 
similar  to  those  of  Mexico.  In  fact,  the  do- 
minion of  the  Pope  stamps  all  countries  under 
his  absolute  sway  with  a  stereotyped  polit- 
ical, social,  and  moral  hfe,  so  that  from  one 
we  may  infer  the  rest.  We  shall  find,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  measure  of  papal  control, 
ignorance,  superstition,  priestcraft,  formalism, 
a  low  standard  of  morals,  a  fettered  intellect, 
and  a  perverted  conscience. 

Missionaries  to  South  America  have  found 
everywhere  two  things,  —  universal  spiritual 
destitution  and  formidable  antagonism.  And 
yet  it  is  plain  that  these  priest-ridden  masses 
are  weary  of  their  thraldom,  though  scarce 
ready  for  the  liberty  of  the  gospel.  Espe- 
cially among  the  men  and  youth  there  is  no 
love  for  *'the  Church,"  —  at  the  best  only  a 
lingering  fear;  deism  is  widespread,  practical 
immorality    everywhere    prevalent,    and    no 


150  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

conception  of  a  spiritual  type  of  piety;  in 
fact,  no  feature  is  more  marked  than  general 
religious  apathy. 

The  priests  threaten  all  who  dare  to  go  to 
a  Protestant  place  of  worship  with  the  ban  of 
excommunication,  and  often  lead  the  way 
in  acts  of  lawless  violence  toward  mission- 
aries and  mission  property.  Civil  war,  with 
the  anarchy  it  brings,  often  interrupts  mis- 
sion work;  and  yet  it  is  plain  that  God  is 
*'  overturning  "  as  He  has  seldom  overturned 
anywhere,  in  preparation  for  His  reign  whose 
right  it  is. 

Material  progress  is  visible.  Better  dwell- 
ings, farming  implements,  roads,  bridges, 
factories  and  mills,  railroads,  steam-boats, 
telegraphs  —  in  fact,  all  the  marked  features  of 
a  higher  civilization,  are  rapidly  impressing 
themselves  on  this  great  country.  The  peo- 
ple may  not  love  Protestantism  for  its  spirit- 
ual religion,  but  they  see  that  it  is  everywhere 
linked  with  civil  and  religious  freedom,  with 
aggressive  enterprise,  good  government,  and 
national   prosperity;    and   as    they   look   at 


SOUTH  AMERICAN  STATES.        151 

their  own  condition,  —  no  intelligence  or  in- 
tellectual progress,  low  moral  standards  and 
lower  moral  practices,  in  bondage  to  a  Jesu- 
itical priesthood,  and  living  the  lives  of 
slaves  rather  than  free  men,  —  they  naturally 
turn  to  Protestantism  as  a  help  to  political 
and  national  progress. 

Where  Protestant  missions  are  once  planted 
and  firmly  rooted,  marked  changes  begin  in 
the  whole  social  life.  Bibles  begin  to  be 
scattered,  schools  established,  a  pure  gospel 
preached ;  and  instead  of  the  atheism  that 
springs  out  of  the  ruins  of  Romanism,  evan- 
gelical doctrine  and  practice  burst  into 
bloom. 

Among  all  the  fourteen  South  American 
States,  Chili  takes  the  front  rank  in  intelli- 
gence and  enterprise,  as  Brazil  does  in  terri- 
torial area. 

Chili,  that  has  been  independent  of  Spain 
since  18 18,  and  recognized  as  such  since 
1846,  within  twelve  months  expelled  the 
papal  nuncio,  suppressed  the  attempt  of  the 
clergy  to  incite  revolution,  carried   the  tri- 


152  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

umph  of  the  liberal  party  through  both 
houses  of  Congress,  enacted  important  re- 
forms in  the  shape  of  laws  for  civil  cemeter- 
ies and  civil  marriages,  and  declared  in  favor 
of  final  and  complete  separation  of  Church 
and  State. 

The  mission  work  has  some  notable  feat- 
ures, conspicuous  among  them  the  seminary 
at  Santiago,  which  is  a  training  school  and 
theological  seminary  to  prepare  a  native 
ministry.  Alexander  Balfour,  Esq.,  of  Liv- 
erpool, who  in  many  ways  aided  the  work, 
pays  for  five  years  the  expenses  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Allis,  who  has  the  seminary  in  charge. 

Brazil,  whose  territory  covers  about  half 
the  continent  of  South  America,  issued  its 
Declaration  of  Independence  in  1822,  and 
was  recognized  by  Portugal  as  a  free  and 
independent  State  in  1825.  It  is  the  only 
monarchy  in  South  America.  The  present 
Emperor,  Dom  Pedro,  who  has  reigned  since 
1841,  is  a  progressive  sovereign.  In  1866 
he  emancipated  his  own  slaves;  in  1871 
passed  a  law  providing  for  gradual  aboHtion 


SOUTH  AMERICAN  STATES.        1 53 

of  all  slavery  in  the  country ;  and  in  our  cen- 
tennial year  visited  the  Great  Exposition  in 
Philadelphia,  made  our  schools,  manufacto- 
ries, political  and  educational  system  a  study, 
and  then  visited  Europe;  returning  to  his 
own  people  to  make  his  throne  the  centre  of 
all  humanizing  and  civilizing  influences. 

During  his  absence  the  Romish  party  used 
the  opportunity  to  hinder  Protestant  missions ; 
but  on  his  return  a  cabinet  was  formed  in 
sympathy  with  the  advanced  and  liberal 
policy  of  the  Emperor  and  the  growing  pop- 
ular sentiment,  and  the  mission  work  re- 
ceived a  new  impulse  and  impetus.  The 
papal  power  is  broken,  freedom  of  worship 
established,  missionaries  are  protected,  and 
another  door,  great  and  effectual,  is  opened 
by  God  to  Christian  evangelism. 

Though  a  monarchy,  Brazil  has  a  General 
Assembly,  with  senate  and  chamber  of  de- 
puties, similar  to  the  English  Parliament  or 
the  American  Congress. 

The  Huguenots  were  the  pioneers  in  the 
effort  to  evangelize  Brazil.    Admiral  Coligny, 


154  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

the  heroic  martyr  of  St.  Bartholomew,  as 
early  as  1555  planned  to  colonize  the  Bra- 
zilian coast  as  a  refuge  for  Huguenot  exiles, 
and  they  settled  on  the  island  of  Villegag- 
non.  This  colony  was  short-lived.  The 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  has  the 
honor  of  leading  the  American  churches  in 
mission  work  in  South  America,  from  1836  to 
1842  maintained  a  station  at  Rio  de  Janeiro. 
The  Presbyterian  Church  has  now  vigor- 
ous missions  in  the  United  States  of  Colom- 
bia, Chili,  and  Brazil,  with  over  eighty  mis- 
sionaries, male  and  female,  there  at  work. 
But  what  are  these  among  so  many?  Would 
that  they  could  be  multiphed  as  the  loaves 
and  fishes  were !  We  have  but  one  Protes- 
tant missionary  to  six  hundred  thousand 
souls  in  South  America.  God  is  greatly 
blessing  the  itinerating  tours  which,  after  the 
example  of  Paul,  distribute  the  labors  of 
these  few  men  over  a  wide  field,  preaching 
the  Word  over  extended  districts,  and  pre- 
paring the  way  for  the  local  preacher  and 
pastor. 


SOUTH  AMERICAN  ST  A  TES.        1 5  5 

Now  is  the  golden  opportunity  for  evan- 
gelizing South  America.  All  times  of  transi- 
tion are  crises.  The  old  is  broken  up,  but 
what  the  new  shall  be  is  ours,  under  God,  to 
determine.  God  has  given  us  convincing 
proofs  that  Protestantism  is  the  lever  to  up- 
lift these  peoples  to  a  higher  plane.  Prompt 
and  vigorous  occupation  of  the  ground,  ear- 
nest, consecrated  evangelism,  —  what  might 
they  not  do  for  South  America !  With  Prot- 
estant schools,  colleges,  and  seminaries ;  with 
an  evangelical  press  to  scatter  the  leaves  of 
the  Tree  of  Life;  with  churches  gathering 
converts  and  organizing  them  into  evangel- 
ists; with  earnest  Christian  men  to  become 
lawyers,  doctors,  statesmen,  judges,  educa- 
tors, —  we  might  see  a  religious  revolution 
from  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  the  antarctic 
circle. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE   SUBSIDENCE   OF   OBSTACLES. 


E  have  thus  glanced  rapidly  at  the 
opening  of  the  doors  in  some  of 
the  principal  fields  of  missionary- 
labor,  pagan,  moslem,  and  papal.  There  is, 
however,  a  class  of  phenomena  connected 
with  modern  missions,  so  remarkable  that 
it  should  be  placed  conspicuously  by  itself. 
There  are  some  barriers  which  have  been 
removed  so  suddenly,  so  unexpectedly,  so 
peculiarly,  that  the  hand  of  God  has  been 
very  marked  in  connection  with  them ;  they 
have  subsided  even  before  they  have  been 
encountered  by  the  advancing  mission  band. 

The  promise  that  "  the  earth  shall  be  full 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea,"  not  only  prophesies,  but  illus- 
trates, the  world's  evangelization.     The  time 


THE  SUBSIDENCE   OF  OBSTACLES.    157 

is  coming  when  the  good  news  will  have 
spread  in  every  direction,  Hke  the  omnipresent 
sea  in  its  vast  bed.  The  Church  has  only  to 
be  faithful  to  her  great  trust,  and,  like  the 
pulsations  of  great  tidal  waves,  the  knowledge 
of  the  Lord  shall  sweep  against  every  foreign 
shore,  move  up  into  every  strait  and  bay  and 
estuary,  and  "  sound  the  roar  of  its  surf-line  " 
from  Greenland  to  Australia,  and  from  Brit- 
ain to  Japan  and  Polynesia.  The  gospel  is 
destined  to  be  all-pervasive,  like  the  sea,  the 
air,  the  light. 

The  sea  may  flood  the  land,  either  by  the 
rising  of  the  ocean  or  the  sinking  of  the 
shore;  and  the  subsidence  of  the  land  is  in 
effect  the  upheaval  of  the  sea.  The  disciple 
rejoices  when  he  observes  those  mighty  move- 
ments of  God's  grace,  which,  like  the  rapid 
rising  of  some  far-reaching  tidal  wave,  flood 
extensive  districts  of  the  world  with  the 
knowledge  and  the  power  of  the  gospel ; 
and  devout  souls  look  and  pray  for  the  day 
when  some  such  wave  of  revival  shall  sweep 
over  the  whole  habitable  globe.     But  let  us 


158  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

not  forget  that,  without  this  startHng  upheaval 
of  the  sea,  it  can  make  its  bed  on  the  conti- 
nents, if  they  sink  below  its  level.  Often  in 
the  history  of  missions  has  God  gone  before 
His  people,  and,  by  the  slow  or  sudden  subsi- 
dence of  opposing  obstacles,  prepared  the 
way  for  flooding  the  land ;  and  in  many  cases 
systems  of  false  faith,  or  customs  of  formida- 
ble antiquity,  that  have  stood  like  mountain 
barriers  to  keep  out  the  gospel  flood,  have 
actually  disappeared. 

In  fact,  the  more  we  study  missions,  the 
more  we  shall  see  that  the  false  faiths  of  the 
world  are  in  a  state  not  only  of  decline,  but 
of  decay.  An  unseen  work  of  undermining 
is  going  on,  and  some  day  we  may  all  be 
startled  by  the  general  subsidence  of  barriers 
which  have  hitherto  seemed  as  deep-founded 
and  as  high-reaching  as  the  everlasting  hills. 
A  few  examples  may  well  be  added  both  to 
demonstrate  and  illustrate  this  truth. 

Sixty  years  ago,  the  brig  "  Thaddeus"  was 
Hearing  the  Sandwich  Islands,  with  the  first 
missionaries  to  those  habitations  of  darkness 


THE  SUBSIDENCE   OF  OBSTACLES.    1 59 

and  cruelty  on  board.  Never  was  an  enter- 
prise, humanly  speaking,  more  hopeless. 
Seventeen  persons  were  going  to  these  ten 
isles  to  evangelize  them,  to  upheave  the  ocean 
and  flood  them  with  the  knowledge  of  the 
Lord ;  and  against  coast  barriers  as  formida- 
ble as  ever  the  gospel  encountered,  —  bar- 
barism, sensuality,  superstition,  brutality. 
These  people,  lost  to  shame,  went  almost 
naked.  Husbands  had  many  wives,  and  wives 
had  many  husbands ;  and  they  exchanged  as 
they  would  trade  in  any  other  commodity. 
Two  thirds  of  all  the  children  died  in  infancy 
by  the  hands  of  the  mothers,  who  would 
choke  a  babe,  or  bury  it  alive  in  the  earth- 
floor  of  the  hut,  to  stop  its  crying.  A  nation 
of  thieves,  gamblers,  drunkards,  they  sac- 
rificed human  beings  as  victims,  and  had 
neither  science  nor  literature,  however  rude. 
Government  was  a  farce ;  a  taboo  system 
made  death  the  penalty  for  offences  so  small 
that  they  might  be  committed  without  either 
will  or  knowledge;  for  a  common  man  to 
allow  his  shadow  to  fall  upon  a  chief,  for  in- 


l60  THE   CRISIS   OF  MISSIONS. 

stance,  could  be  atoned  for  only  as  his  head 
lay  at  the  feet  of  that  chief.  No  words  can 
do  justice  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  condition 
of  those  islands.  It  was  a  question  whether 
such  a  people  could  be  saved,  even  by  the 
gospel ;  not  a  few  doubted  whether  they  were 
worth  saving.  Could  you  expect  the  sea  to 
sweep  against  such  barriers  and  wash  them 
away?     It  would  take  a  thousand  years! 

But  as  the  boat  drew  near  the  coast,  Hopu, 
a  native  who,  having  found  his  way  to  this 
land  and  to  Christ,  was  now  going  back,  put 
off  in  a  small  boat  for  shore,  and  at  once 
returning  swung  his  hat  and  shouted, ''  Oahus 
idols  are  no  more!''  God  had  gone  before 
these  pioneers.  The  old  king  was  dead,  the 
images  of  the  gods  all  burned,  and  the  first 
death-blow  struck  at  the  taboo  system;  all 
this  before  the  vessel' s  prow  touched  the  beach. 
The  missionaries  wrote  in  their  journal :  *'Sing, 
O  heavens,  for  the  Lord  hath  done  it ! " 

Ah,  yes,  the  island  system  was  sinking  and 
the  huge  barriers  subsiding;  the  sea  need 
not  change  its  level,  but  only  move  in  upon 


THE  SUBSIDENCE  OF  OBSTACLES.    l6l 

the  sinking  land.  And  so  in  two  years  the 
missionaries  began  to  give  them  a  written 
language  and  literature.  The  first  convert 
was  Keopuolani,  the  king's  mother.  Within 
four  years  the  Christian  Sabbath  and  Ten 
Commandments  were  formally  recognized  by 
government ;  and  so  the  work  went  on,  until 
within  fifty  years  the  islands  took  their  place 
with  other  Christian  nations,  and  became 
themselves  centres  of  gospel  Hght  for  the 
darkness  around.  With  what  amazing  ra- 
pidity may  the  sea  cover  the  earth  when  He 
who  holds  the  continents  in  His  palm  lets 
them  sink  below  its  level ! 

Japan  also  illustrates  this  theory  of  sub- 
sidence. Such  a  preparation  as  was  there 
found  for  the  gospel  no  other  land  ever 
presented  to  the  same  extent.  It  could  not 
be  traced  to  man,  for  Japan  had  been  for 
centuries  a  hermit  nation,  shutting  herself  in 
and  shutting  others  out.  There  was  every 
reason  why,  according  to  all  human  expecta- 
tion, the  institutions  and  character  of  this 
exclusive  people  should  have  been  found, 
II 


l62  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

after  over  two  thousand  five  hundred  years, 
petrified  and  fossilized  into  impenetrabiHty 
and  immobiHty.  Yet  God  had  gone  before 
His  people,  and,  in  advance  of  their  approach, 
thrown  down  gigantic  barriers.  Here  was  a 
people  tired  of  a  dual  government,  an  op- 
pressive feudal  nobility,  and  a  dead  state  re- 
ligion. Revolution  had  paved  the  way  for 
political  reformation  and  social  regeneration. 
A  nation  by  temperament  aggressive  and 
progressive,  divinely  prepared  for  a  new 
order  of  things,  wait  for  a  day  dawn.  Just 
at  this  critical,  pivotal  era  in  Japan's  history, 
the  foremost  of  Christian  nations  peaceably 
knocks  at  her  doors  and  asks  entrance.  A 
great  republic  and  a  great  monarchy,  both 
Protestant  and  evangelical,  approach  for 
trade,  and  bring  the  gospel.  This  awakened 
nation  finds  at  once  a  better  model  of  gov- 
ernment, a  higher  type  of  civilization,  a  loftier 
plane  of  education,  and  a  purer  form  of  faith ; 
and  with  incredible  rapidity  is  taking  on  the 
complexion  and  character  of  Christian  na- 
tions.    Was  not  God   in  this  subsidence  of 


THE  SUBSIDENCE   OF  OBSTACLES.    1 63 

obstacles?  Was  not  this  another  example  of 
the  coming  of  the  fulness  of  His  time?  He 
struck  when  the  iron  was  hot,  and  only  He 
could  know  when  it  was  hot. 

Yes,  God  not  only  chose  his  own  way,  but 
His  own  time,  for  opening  the  doors  of  Japan. 
At  the  very  crisis  of  affairs,  when  the  dual 
government  of  seven  centuries  was  overthrown, 
and  the  Tycoon  and  his  divided  followers 
surrendered  to  the  Mikado  as  the  sole  ruling 
power,  —  at  this  providential  juncture  of  affairs, 
when  the  various  elements  of  Japanese  life 
were  in  a  state  of  fusion,  ready  to  be  moulded 
anew,  God  provided  a  matrix  in  which  the 
New  Japan  should  take  shape.  Foreign 
commerce  was  knocking  loudly  at  the  long- 
shut  gates,  bringing  with  it  Western  thought, 
enterprise,  and  manners.  It  was  not  only 
easy,  but  natural,  to  accept  the  new  order  of 
things;  and  consequently  revolutions  have 
taken  place,  intellectually,  socially,  and  relig- 
iously, that  centuries  have  not  wrought  else- 
where, which  astonish  not  only  all  outside 
observers,  but  the  Japanese  themselves. 


1 64         THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

The  eyes  of  the  world  are  to-day  on  France, 
beholding  with  astonishment  the  wonderful 
work  of  God  there.  Yet  this  is  another  in- 
stance of  subsidence.  France  has  been  the 
right  arm  of  papal  power  for  centuries,  and 
seemed,  a  century  since,  likely  to  develop 
the  antichrist.  How  little  we  knew  what 
preparations  were  going  forward  for  the  in- 
flowing of  the  gospel  tides ! 

In  1877,  Paul  Bouchard,  ex-mayor  of 
Beaune,  wrote  an  open  letter  to  the  bishop 
of  his  diocese,  renouncing  Romanism  and 
transferring  his  adhesion  to  Protestantism, 
on  grounds  of  consistency  and  patriotism. 
It  was  not  the  act  of  a  man  converted  to  a 
new  faith  so  much  as  disgusted  with  an  old 
one.  He  forsook  the  state  religion  as  a  pa- 
triot and  political  economist,  denouncing 
Roman  CathoHcism  as  the  enemy  of  social 
and  political  progress,  the  ally  of  ignorance 
and  superstition.  His  act  was  one  echo  of 
Gambetta's  declaration  that  the  Romish 
Church  is  the  enemy  of  French  republican- 
ism,— '' clericalism   is   the   foe   of    France." 


THE   SUBSIDENCE   OF  OBSTACLES.    1 65 

But  he  went  beyond  Gambetta,  for  he  re- 
proached Gambetta  with  atheism.  Bouchard 
took  this  great  step  alone,  and  boldly  wrote 
five  tracts  for  the  people,  giving  wider  expres- 
sion to  his  views. 

At  the  same  time  Eugene  Reveillaud,  a 
lawyer,  journalist,  orator,  and  statesman,  a 
college  graduate  and  a  freethinker,  born  and 
bred  a  Romanist,  had  his  eyes  opened  to 
see  the  rottenness  of  Romanism,  and  became 
the  champion  of  Protestantism,  on  similar 
grounds  to  those  of  Bouchard,  and  wrote  a 
pamphlet  on  the  *'  Religious  Question  and 
the  Protestant  Solution."  Compelled  to  give 
up  the  papal  church,  he  felt  he  could  not 
be  without  a  church  and  a  religion,  but  had 
as  yet  no  change  of  heart.  The  faithful 
Huguenot  pastors  boldly  taught  that  Protes- 
tantism required  more  than  a  mere  renuncia- 
tion of  Romanism;  and  in  July,  1878,  in  the 
Protestant  meeting-house  at  Troyes,  Reveil- 
laud arose  and  addressed  the  congregation, 
declaring  his  conversion,  and  manifesting  a 
remarkable   baptism   of  the   Spirit.       From 


1 66  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

January,  1879,  his  tongue  and  pen  have  been 
enthusiastically  given  to  the  evangelization 
of  France.  He  publishes  a  weekly  paper, 
"Le  Signal,"  and  goes  everywhere  to  halls, 
theatres,  ball-rooms,  and  barns,  to  address 
the  people,  showing  them  the  need  of  a  new 
gospel  of  faith,  repentance,  and  holiness. 

Our  generation  has  seen  no  religious  move- 
ment to  compare  with  this  arising  of  a  whole 
people.  "  There  is  Protestantism  in  the  air." 
In  Avignon,  the  old  residence  of  the  popes, 
Renouvier  adds  to  his  "  Critique  Philoso- 
phique"  a  "  Critique  Religieuse"  to  chronicle 
the  Protestant  movement;  and  in  Belgium, 
Emile  de  Laveleye  writes  on  the  ''  Future 
of  the  Catholic  Nations," — a  warning  to  all 
peoples  of  the  inevitable  results  of  Romanist 
supremacy ! 

The  rapid  and  radical  change  that  has 
come  over  France  no  one  can  conceive  who 
has  not  been  there  during  this  quiet  religious 
revolution.  Scarce  a  century  ago  Protestants 
were  tortured  and  murdered,  till  even  Vol- 
taire's  atheism  vented   its   invective   against 


THE  SUBSIDENCE   OF  OBSTACLES.    1 6/ 

persecution  for  religious  opinion,  and  shamed 
France  out  of  her  course.  Then  came  the 
reaction  of  atheism,  but  no  rehgious  hberty. 
But  under  MacMahon  a  majority  of  nine 
ministers  of  the  Waddington  cabinet  were 
Huguenots,  though  the  Huguenots  repre- 
sented but  one-twentieth  of  the  population. 
November  2,  1879,  Protestant  worship  was 
held  at  Versailles,  in  the  palace  of  Louis 
XIV.,  and  not  far  from  the  chamber  where 
he  died,  beneath  the  room  where  Madame 
de  Maintenon  induced  him  to  sign  the  Revo- 
cation of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  nearly  two 
hundred  years  ago. 

The  news  of  one  week  would  fill  a  journal 
with  startling  items,  —  people  assembling  in 
hosts  everywhere,  in  halls,  tents,  and  open 
air,  listening  with  intense  interest  to  de- 
nunciations of  Romish  priestcraft  and  the 
good  news  of  grace ;  and  families,  fifty 
at  a  time,  coming  out  to  take  their  places 
with  the  Protestants.  It  is  but  three  hundred 
years  since  the  St.  Bartholomew  massacre 
in   1572;    and   already  the  nation  is  turning 


1 68  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

from  Rome.  The  McAll  Mission  has  devel- 
oped with  a  rapidity  unparalleled  in  church 
history,  establishing  new  preaching  stations 
as  fast  as  men  and  money  can  be  obtained, 
and  finding  everywhere  an  open  door.  The 
tides  of  a  pure  gospel  that  surged  vainly 
against  mountain  barriers  for  centuries  are 
now  rushing  in  like  a  flood.  But  it  is  a  case 
of  subsidence.  It  is  not  the  tide  that  has 
risen,  so  much  as  the  barriers  that  have  given 
way ;  and  so  France  is  being  covered  with  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

woman's  work  for  woman. 

MONG  the  most  remarkable  examples 
of  the  opening  of  doors  and  the 
subsidence  of  barriers  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  preparation  of  workers  on  the 
other,  we  place,  without  hesitation,  the  organi- 
zation of  women's  boards  of  missions  and 
the  so-called  zenana  work.  The  significance 
and  the  importance  of  these  developments 
entitle  them  to  a  special  and  separate  record. 
It  is  now  a  little  over  fifty  years  ago  since, 
under  the  moving,  melting  plea  of  Mr.  Abeel, 
from  China,  the  women  of  London  resolved 
to  carry  the  gospel  to  woman  in  the  far  East. 
This  resolve  was  the  parent  of  Zenana  Mis- 
sions. The  project  seemed  like  the  wild 
scheme  of  unbalanced  enthusiasts ;   and  wise 


I70  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

men  pronounced  it  impracticable  and  vision- 
ary. To  attempt  to  get  access  to  the  harems 
of  Turkey  and  the  zenanas  of  India  was  hke 
forcing  gates  of  steel  in  walls  of  adamant- 
Yet  something  must  be  done.  The  condition 
of  woman  in  Oriental  empires  was  so  desti- 
tute and  desolate,  so  hopeless  and  helpless, 
that  it  had  long  attracted  the  attention  and 
aroused  the  sympathy  of  the  whole  civilized 
world.  In  India  alone  it  is  estimated  that 
there  are  one  hundred  millions  of  women  and 
girls  sunk  in  utter  ignorance  and  degrada- 
tion; one  third  of  whom  can  neither  read  nor 
write,  one  sixth  of  whom  are  widows,  and  of 
them  eighty  thousand  under  ten  years  of 
age.  And  worst  of  all,  these  women  and 
girls  are  positively  unreached  by  any  edu- 
cating, elevating,  or  evangelizing  influence. 
Words  cannot  convey  any  adequate  concep- 
tion of  the  low  estate  of  women  in  almost  all 
the  empires  where  the  gospel  has  not  per- 
vaded and  moulded  social  life. 

The  work  was  undertaken.     It  is  said  that 
the   needle   of  a   missionary's  wife  was   the 


WOMAN'S   WORK  FOR    WOMAN.    171 

simple  instrument  God  used  to  give  access 
to  Oriental  zenanas.  A  piece  of  embroidery, 
wrought  by  her  deft  fingers,  found  its  way  to 
the  secluded  inmates  of  a  zenana;  if  a  woman 
could  do  such  work  as  that,  other  women 
could  learn  under  her  instruction;  and  so, 
with  the  cordial  consent  of  the  husband,  this 
Christian  woman  was  welcomed  to  the  inside 
of  his  home,  and  as  she  taught  his  wives 
the  art  of  embroidery,  she  was  working  the 
"  scarlet  thread,"  dyed  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  into  the  more  delicate  fabric  of  their 
hearts  and  hves. 

And  now  these  barriers  are  no  more ;  the 
gates  of  steel  are  unlocked,  and  Christian 
women  enter  almost  without  restraint  the 
homes  of  Turkey,  India,  and  China.  The 
girls  are  gathering  into  Christian  schools; 
the  increase  in  the  number  of  female  pupils 
is  so  rapid  that  in  ten  years  it  has  doubled, 
and  is  likely  to  multiply  far  more  rapidly  in 
the  near  future.  Two  years  ago  one  hundred 
and  sixty  lady  missionaries  had  been  enrolled 
in   the  work  of  that   London   Mission,   and 


172  THE   CRISIS   OF  MISSIONS. 

more  have  been  added  since ;  pupils  in  their 
zenanas  numbered  thousands,  and  in  their 
day  schools  tens  of  thousands.  Bible-women 
not  only  enter  the  richest  homes  with  a 
welcome,  but  enlightened  Hindus  actually 
clamor  for  the  education  of  their  wives  and 
daughters.  The  Church  of  England  Society 
alone  had,  in  1883,  under  visitation  eighteen 
hundred  zenanas  with  four  thousand  pupils; 
and  both  the  visitors  and  the  schools  are  con- 
stantly increasing  in  numbers  and  influence. 
A  "  new  world  "  of  work  is  thus  "  discovered." 
Leupolt  remarks :  — 

"  If  any  one  had  hinted  twenty-five  years  since 
that  not  only  should  we  have  free  access  to  the 
natives  in  their  houses  in  India,  but  that  in  cities 
like  Benares,  Lucknow,  Agra,  Delhi,  Amritsir,  and 
Lahore,  zenanas  would  be  open,  and  European 
ladies  with  their  native  assistants  admitted  to 
teach  the  Word  of  God  in  them,  I  would  have 
replied,  'All  things  are  possible  to  God,  but  I  do 
not  expect  such  a  glorious  event  in  my  day.'  But 
what  has  God  wrought  ?  More  than  we  asked  or 
thought,  expected  or  prayed  for.  His  name  be 
praised  !     To  more  than  twelve  hundred  seraglios 


WOMAN'S   WORK  FOR    WOMAN.    173 

the  agents  of  the  Female   Normal    School    and 
Instruction  Society  have  access." 

Some  two  years  ago  the  Indian  Education 
Commission  reported  to  the  government  that 
the  most  successful  efforts  yet  made  to  edu- 
cate women  after  leaving  school  had  been 
conducted  by  missionaries ;  that  in  every 
province  of  India  Christian  ladies  had  de- 
voted themselves  to  teaching  in  the  homes 
of  native  families;  and  recommended  that 
grants  for  zenana  teaching  be  recognized  as  a 
proper  charge  on  public  funds,  etc.  And  it 
is  not  a  year  since  a  Mohammedan  paper 
of  Lahore  urged  the  propagators  of  Islam  to 
make  effort  for  the  instruction  of  women  in 
the  zenanas,  alleging  that  the  representatives 
of  Christian  women  were  making  such  inroads 
upon  the  homes  of  India  that,  unless  a  counter 
effort  were  made,  the  very  foundations  of 
Islam  would  be  gradually  destroyed. 

Shaftesbury,  at  the  jubilee  meeting  of  the 
Society  for  Promoting  Female  Education  in 
the  East,  said :  **  The  time  is  at  hand  when 
you  will  see  the  great  dimensions  of  the  work 


174         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

you  are  now  doing.  Not  only  in  India,  but 
throughout  the  East,  great  changes  are  in  the 
future."  His  prophecy  is  even  now  being 
fulfilled.  This  society  has  missions  not  only 
in  India  and  Ceylon,  but  in  Japan,  Africa, 
Persia,  etc.  **  If  these  women,"  says  an  in- 
telHgent  Hindu,  *'  reach  the  hearts  of  the 
women  of  our  country,  they  will  soon  get  at 
the  heads  of  the  men."  The  far-reaching  in- 
fluence of  this  zenana  movement  may  be  seen 
in  one  representative  instance.  The  young 
queen,  who  came  to  the  throne  at  the  crisis 
in  Madagascar,  was  a  pupil  of  Miss  Bliss,  at 
the  girls'  central  school  at  the  capital  of  the 
island. 

While  God  thus  opened  the  door  of  access 
to  gentile  women,  He  moved  Christian  women 
to  organize  for  their  greatest  crusade.  This 
growth  of  women's  boards  of  missions  con- 
stitutes an  epoch  in  history. 

So  far  as  we  can  learn,  the  Woman's 
Union  Missionary  Society,  organized  in  New 
York  in  i860  or  1861,  under  the  leadership 
of  the   lamented    Mrs.  T.  C.    Doremus,  and 


WOMAN'S   WORK  FOR    WOMAN.    1 75 

with  the  "  Missionary  Link  "  as  its  organ  and 
pepiodical,  is  the  pioneer  in  this  country. 
This  undenominational  society  led  the  way, 
and  was  the  parent  of  the  various  denomina- 
tional boards  now  found  in  connection  with 
all  the  great  Christian  bodies.  The  one  ori- 
gin of  all  these  societies  was  the  inaccessi- 
bility of  heathen  women  to  male  missionaries  ; 
and  their  aim  was  to  engage  the  co-operation 
of  women  with  existing  foreign  missionary 
boards  in  sending  out  and  supporting  un- 
married female  missionaries  and  teachers  to 
heathen  women. 

The  rallying  cry  first  heard  in  London,  and 
then  so  nobly  echoed  in  New  York,  soon 
began  to  be  repeated  and  emphasized  in 
connection  with  the  Christian  women  of  the 
different  Christian  denominations.  Early  in 
1868  the  New  England  Women's  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  was  formed  in  Boston, 
with  Mrs.  Albert  Bowker,  president,  and  Mrs. 
Homer  Bartlett,  treasurer.  The  American 
Board  had  in  1867  sent  into  the  field  ten 
single  women,   appropriating   to  this   object 


176  THE   CRISIS   OF  MISSIONS. 

$25,000.  The  women  generally  felt  that  in 
such  enlarged  efforts  in  behalf  of  their  sex 
they  should  be  both  prompters  and  helpers. 
Woman  owes  to  Christianity  what  she  is,  not 
only  as  a  disciple,  but  as  woman  domestically 
and  socially.  Woman  naturally  sympathizes 
with  her  own  sex,  and  appreciates  the  degra- 
dation or  elevation  of  womankind.  Not  only 
is  woman  accessible  only  to  woman  in  the 
social  system  of  most  pagan  peoples,  but  she 
needs  the  practical  illustration  of  what  the 
gospel  has  done  for  woman  as  seen  in  the 
Christian  woman  herself.  Such  were  some 
of  the  considerations  which  lay  at  the  founda- 
tion of  this  uprising  of  women  in  Christian 
lands  in  behalf  of  women  the  world  over. 

Moreover,  in  all  education  woman  is  God's 
ordained  pioneer.  As  wife,  mother,  sister, 
daughter,  she  sways  the  sceptre  in  the 
home ;  man  may  be  the  head,  but  she  is  the 
heart,  of  the  family.  The  plastic  clay  is  in 
her  hands:  she  sits  at  the  potter's  wheel; 
and  if  vessels  are  moulded  into  fitness  for 
the   Master's    use,    a   sanctified    hand    must 


WOMAN'S   WORK  FOR    WOMAN.    1 77 

preside  at  the  wheel,  where  character  and 
destiny  take  shape.  To  organize  women, 
distinctively,  would  quicken  interest  in  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  their  own  sex,  and  secure 
larger  means  for  the  support  of  women  as 
missionaries  and  teachers;  connection  with 
existing  boards  would  secure  the  benefits  of 
their  experience  and  knowledge  without 
needless  trouble  and  expense.  Christian 
women,  thus  organized,  gave  their  energies 
to  diffuse  intelligence  and  increase  interest 
as  to  foreign  missions,  and  to  gather  offer- 
ings. In  addition  to  existing  channels,  they 
established  direct  correspondence  with  fe- 
male missionaries,  and  held  monthly  meet- 
ings to  hear  new  intelligence  and  pray  for 
the  anointing  of  the  "•  spirit  of  missions." 

The  collections  of  the  first  month  enabled 
this  New  England  society  to  assume  support 
of  a  missionary  about  to  leave  for  South 
Africa.  In  March  a  circular  was  issued,  ad- 
dressed to  Christian  women,  —  a  model  of 
beauty,  brevity,  pathos,  and  power.  It  re- 
fers to  the  degradation  and  wretchedness  of 
12 


178  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

women  in  heathen  and  Mohammedan  coun- 
tries ;  to  the  new  doors  open  to  labor  among 
them;  to  the  special  fitness  of  woman  for 
this  work;  and  to  the  noble  service  of  our 
women  in  the  war  for  the  Union,  which  sug- 
gests, in  woman's  work  for  woman,  a  more 
glorious  field  for  her  in  the  conflict  of  the 
ages.  This  circular  also  urges  the  formation 
of  auxiliary  societies. 

The  first  quarterly  meeting  was  largely 
attended.  Letters  were  read  from  three  wo- 
men, all  about  to  be  hving  links  between  the 
society  and  the  pagan  world;  namely.  Miss 
Edwards,  bound  for  the  Zulu  Mission,  and 
Miss  Andrews  and  Miss  Parmelee,  bound 
for  Turkey.  These  were  first-fruits,  —  bless- 
ing the  work  of  the  first  quarter.  Other 
letters  were  read  from  women  already  in  the 
field,  and  one  from  the  pen  of  Mrs.  Cham- 
pion, thirty-one  years  before,  herself  a  pioneer 
to  South  Africa.  This  society  also  under- 
took to  maintain,  as  Bible-readers,  ten  native 
women. 

June   1st  brought  another  meeting  at  the 


WOMAN'S   WORK  FOR   WOMAN.    1 79 

Old  South  Church,  and  showed  how  fast  and 
firm  were  the  roots  of  the  organization  in  the 
hearts  of  Christian  women,  and  how  full  its 
flowering  stalk  was  of  the  opening  blooms 
that  promised  growing  service.  Mrs.  Cyrus 
Stone,  long  since  by  illness  driven  from  the 
Mahratta  Mission,  too  weak  to  stand,  sat  and 
pleaded  for  the  women  whose  low  level  she  so 
well  knew,  declaring  that  if  she  had  a  thou- 
sand lives  she  would  give  them  all  to  lift  her 
sex  to  a  higher  plane.  Mrs.  Wheeler,  of 
Harpoot,  appealed  to  mothers  to  give  their 
children,  and  to  maidens  to  give  themselves, 
to  the  work ;  contrasting  the  extravagant  in- 
dulgence of  Christian  women  with  the  self- 
denials  of  native  converts,  instancing  a  man 
and  his  wife  who  sold  their  only  bed  and 
slept  on  a  mud  floor,  living  for  three  days 
upon  ten  cents,  that  they  might  give  to  the 
Lord! 

What  was  at  first  a  local  organization,  as- 
piring to  no  broader  territory  than  New  Eng- 
land, like  the  banyan  tree,  bending  down  its 
branches  to  take  root  on  every  side,  became 


l80  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

now  the  parent  of  auxiliary  organizations. 
And  so,  October  8th,  in  connection  with  the 
meeting  of  the  American  Board  at  Norwich, 
Conn.,  the  New  England  Women's  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  with  tears  of  joy,  was 
christened  the  "Women's  Board  of  Mis- 
sions." 

Here  we  reach  a  new  epoch.  On  Oct.  27, 
1868,  many  ladies  met  in  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian Church,  Chicago,  to  form  a  similar 
society  for  the  West.  The  States  of  the 
interior  were  largely  represented,  and  more 
than  fifty  letters  were  read  from  those  who 
could  not  attend.  Thus,  about  ten  months 
after  the  formation  of  that  New  England 
society,  there  sprang  into  life  the  Women's 
Board  of  Missions  for  the  Interior. 

The  Women's  Board  of  the  East  held  its 
first  annual  meeting  in  Boston,  January,  1869, 
over  six  hundred  ladies  being  present,  in 
spite  of  stormy  weather.  Rev.  Drs.  Clark, 
Washburn,  Webb,  and  Kirk  spoke  of  the  vast 
amount  of  ability  in  women,  needing  and 
craving  a  fit  field  for  work. 


WOMAN'S   WORK  FOR    WOMAN.     l8l 

As  early  as  February,  1869,  the  Women's 
Board  of  the  Interior  undertook  the  support 
of  Miss  Tyler,  of  Madura  Mission,  and  of 
Miss  Dean,  of  Oroomiah,  Persia,  and  in 
March  began  to  publish  its  quarterly,  "  Life 
and  Light  for  Heathen  Women."  In  May,  a 
third  missionary,  —  Miss  Porter,  of  Pekin,  — 
besides  several  Bible-readers,  were  taken 
under  care;  and  in  August  two  more,  —  Miss 
Pollock  and  Miss  Beach;  and  twenty-six 
auxiliaries  were  reported.  During  its  first 
year,  up  to  Nov.  4,  1869,  $4,096.77  were 
gathered. 

At  the  second  annual  meeting  of  the 
Board  of  the  East,  the  total  receipts  reported 
were  over  $14,000;  it  had  thirty-two  mis- 
sionaries and  Bible-readers,  and  had  appro- 
priated $3,000  for  a  home  for  single  women 
at  work  at  Constantinople. 

To  complete  this  sketch,  it  ought  to  be 
added  that  women's  missionary  societies 
have  now  become  so  numerous  that  Rev. 
R.  G.  Wilder  gives  a  list  of  twenty-two 
women's  boards,  representing  twelve  denom- 


1 82         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

inations,  and  an  aggregate  of  receipts  for 
1884  of  nearly  one  million  dollars.  These 
twenty-two  boards  represent  hundreds  of 
auxiliary  societies  and  bands  in  almost  every 
considerable  church  of  the  land. 

It  ought  also  to  be  added  that  the  steady 
and  rapid  growth  of  the  contributions  of  these 
women's  boards  shows  the  effect  of  thor- 
ough system  and  of  ''  organizing  the  lit- 
tles." The  contributions  of  the  Presbyterian 
Women's  Board,  for  example,  as  reported  to 
the  Assembly  in  1 87 1,  were  $7,000;  in  1872, 
$27,000;  in  1873,  $64,000;  in  1874,  $87,000; 
in  1875,  $96,000;  in  1876,  $115,000;  in 
1877  and  1878,  $124,000;  in  1879,  $136,000; 
in  1880,  $176,000;  in  1881,  $170,000;  in 
1882,  $178,000;  in  1883,  $193,000;  in  1884, 
$204,000;  and  in  1885  and  1886,  $224,000. 
Here  is  an  increase  of  thirty-two  fold  —  from 
$7,000  to  $224,000  —  in  fifteen  years;  and, 
except  in  three  cases, —  1878,  1881,  and  1886, 
—  the  amount  reported  is  an  advance  on  the 
year  previous ! 

Chalmers  used  to  say  that  in  all  benevolent 


PV  OMAN'S    IVORK  FOR    WO  AT  AN.     1 83 

work  one  woman  is  worth  just  seven  and  a 
half  men.  Surely  ''  this  is  the  finger  of 
God,"  when  Christian  women  are  organized 
in  such  a  crusade  to  redeem  their  sex  in 
pagan  and  Mohammedan  lands  from  domes- 
tic and  spiritual  thraldom ! 


CHAPTER   XX. 

THE   PREPARATION   OF  THE   CHURCH. 

HE  same  Divine  Providence  which 
thus  opened  doors,  made  barriers 
to  subside,  and  prepared  the  field 
for  the  sower,  educated  the  Church  for  the 
mission  work.  Though  the  pious  and  prayer- 
ful student  of  history  may  now  trace  the 
moving  pillar  far  back  into  the  centuries, 
the  eyes  of  disciples  generally  were  then 
holden  that  they  saw  it  not.  The  rising  of 
the  morning-star  of  the  Reformation  was  the 
signal  for  an  unconscious  preparation  of 
God's  church  for  the  world-wide  preaching 
of  the  Word.  That  double  reformation  in 
philosophy  and  religion  laid  the  basis  fof 
purer  and  more  primitive  faith  and  life,  gave 
the  Bible  to  the  people  in  their  own  tongue, 
made    the    line    fainter   between    clergy  and 


PREPARATION  OF   THE   CHURCH.    1 85 

laity,  and  by  striking  a  blow  at  priestcraft 
revived  both  evangelical  piety  and  evangel- 
istic activity.  Eyes  long  blinded  to  God's 
true  nature  and  man's  real  need  began  dimly 
to  see  that  the  race  was  lost,  and  could  be 
saved  only  by  the  gospel,  through  the 
Church. 

Step  by  step  proceeded  the  divine  prepa- 
ration for  the  modern  era  of  missions.  That 
triad  of  inventions  —  the  mariner's  compass, 
printing-press,  and  steam  as  a  motor  —  made 
all  nations,  neighbors,  and  gave  winged  san- 
dals to  the  herald  of  the  cross,  while  it  mul- 
tiplied and  scattered  the  leaves  of  the  Word 
of  Life.  Still  the  Church  as  a  body  seemed 
not  only  blind  and  deaf,  but  dead  to  all 
sense  either  of  debt  or  love  to  a  dying  world. 
The  proposal  of  missions  to  the  heathen  met, 
a  century  ago,  with  cold  indifference,  if  not 
with  sneers  of  ridicule ;  and  the  missionary 
advance  of  the  century,  of  which  we  often 
speak  with  boasting,  as  though  it  were  the 
glory  of  the  Church,  is  simply  due  to  the 
wonder-working   power   of  God.     Few  per- 


1 86         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

sons  really  appreciate  how  necessary  it  was 
that  the  Church  itself  should  first  be  con- 
verted to  an  interest  in  missions. 

Since  Luther  nailed  up  his  theses,  there 
has  been  no  historic  hour  so  dark  as  the  first 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Even  Eng- 
land was,  as  Isaac  Taylor  said,  in  "  virtual 
heathenism,"  with  a  lascivious  literature,  an 
infidel  society,  a  worldly  church,  and  a 
deistic  theology.  Blackstone  heard  every 
clergyman  of  note  in  London,  but  there  was 
not  one  discourse  that  had  more  Christianity 
in  it  than  the  orations  of  Cicero,  or  showed 
whether  the  preacher  was  a  disciple  of  Con- 
fucius, Mahomet,  or  Christ.  In  America, 
Samuel  Blair  declared  that  "  religion  lay 
a-dying."  In  France,  Voltaire,  Rousseau,  and 
Madame  de  Pompadour  led  society ;  and  in 
Germany,  Frederick  the  Great  made  his 
\^  court  the  Olympus  of  infidels. 

While  Collins  and  Tindal  were  denouncing 
Christianity  as  priestcraft,  Whiston  was  call- 
ing Bible  miracles  grand  impositions,  and 
Woolston  treating  them  as  allegories;  while 


PREPARATION  OF  THE   CHURCH.    1 8/ 

Clarke  and  Priestley  openly  taught  the  here- 
sies of  Arius  and  Socinus,  and  even  morality 
was  trampled  under  foot,  —  what  missionary 
activity  could  there  be?  To  diffuse  such 
*' Christianity  "  would  be  disaster;  but  such 
a  type  of  ''piety"  had  no  diffusive  tendency 
or  power;  if  it  had  any, divine  fire  left,  it 
could  not  spare  a  coal,  or  even  a  spark,  to 
light  a  blaze  elsewhere. 

The  only  hope  of  missions  lay  in  a  revival 
of  religion,  wide-spread,  deep-reaching;  and 
that  is  what  God  gave  to  His  church  through 
a  wonderful  constellation  of  evangelists. 
VVhitefield,  the  Wesleys,  Grimshaw,  Romaine, 
Rowlands,  Berridge,  Venn,  Walker  of  Truro, 
Hervey,  Toplady,  Fletcher,  —  are  named  by 
Bishop  Ryle  as  the  twelve  apostles  of  that  new 
Reformation  which,  between  1735  and  1785, 
woke  not  only  England  but  the  Protestant 
world  from  the  awful  sleep  of  irreligion  and 
infidelity.  The  Church  was  so  nearly  apos- 
tate that  the  efforts  to  revive  her  dying  life 
were  at  first  met  with  resistance.  Whitefield 
found  Scotch  ministers  opposing  him  by  set 


1 88  THE   CRISIS   OF  MISSIONS. 

days  of  fasting  and  prayer,  as  though  he 
were  the  Antichrist;  and  it  was  the  shutting 
of  church  doors  against  himself  and  Wesley 
that  drove  them  to  that  open-air  preaching 
which  proved  the  great  stride  of  the  century 
toward  the  reaching  of  the  masses. 

But  the  Spirit  of  God  was  breathing  on  the 
dry  bones.  The  fires,  slowly  kindled  at  first, 
burned  brighter  and  hotter,  caught  here  and 
there,  spread  far  and  wide,  till  even  America, 
across  the  sea,  was  aflame  within  fifty  years 
from  Whitefield's  first  sermon  at  Gloucester. 
All  Protestant  Christendom  thrilled  with  a  re- 
vived evangelical  faith;  and,  as  evangelistic 
zeal  is  sure  always  to  follow,  out  of  these  new 
Pentecostal  outpourings  came  the  flaming 
tongues  of  witness.  From  the  silver  trum- 
pets pealed  forth  a  summons  to  prayer  for  the 
effusion  of  the  Spirit  upon  all  disciples,  and 
upon  the  whole  habitable  earth.  Praying- 
bands  responded  to  the  trumpet-peal  in  all 
parts  of  Britain,  and  from  American  shores 
cam.e,  in  1747,  the  answering  echo  of  Jona- 
than   Edwards's     *'  bugle-call    to    concerted 


PREPARATION  OF  THE   CHURCH.    1 89 

prayer."  The  tidal  wave  of  revival  rose  to  a 
higher  flood-mark  and  moved  with  greater 
force  under  the  Haldanes,  Andrew  Fuller, 
Sutcliffe,  Rowland  Hill,  and  others. 

In  1784  the  Northamptonshire  Association 
made  the  first  Monday  of  each  month  a 
"  monthly  concert  of  prayer  "  for  the  world's 
evangelization.  The  revived  Church,  after 
this  awful  period  of  drought,  began  to  pray 
for  a  great  rain,  and  a  cloud  like  a  man's 
hand  appeared  on  the  horizon;  and  within 
eight  years  that  first  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety was  formed  in  England  which,  in  1793, 
sent  to  India,  William  Carey,  the  heroic  man 
who,  within  the  thirty  years  following,  secured 
the  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  forty 
tongues,  and  the  circulation  of  two  hundred 
thousand  copies.  Thus  the  revival  of  evan- 
gelical faith  and  of  concerted  prayer  are  the 
two  pillars  on  which  rests  the  arch  of  modern 
missions. 

That  little  cloud  has  grown  till  the  whole 
heaven  is  overspread,  and  there  is  a  sound 
of  abundance  of  rain.     During  less  than  one 


190         THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

hundred  years  the  number  of  translations  of 
the  Word  has  increased  fivefold,  —  from  fifty 
to  two  hundred  and  fifty;  of  Protestant  mis- 
sionary societies,  fourteen-fold,  —  from  seven 
to  one  hundred ;  of  male  missionaries,  eigh- 
teen-fold,  —  from  one  hundred  and  seventy  to 
three  thousand;   of  contributions,  forty-fold, 

—  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  to 
ten  million  of  dollars ;   of  converts,  fifty-fold, 

—  from  fifty  thousand  to  two  and  a  half 
million ;  of  mission  schools,  two  hundred- 
fold,—  from  seventy  to  upwards  of  fourteen 
thousand.^ 

More  remarkable  still  is  it  how  God  has 
turned  the  whole  tide  of  thought  in  the 
Church  since  William  Carey  first  offered  to 
go  and  meet  the  giant  Anakim  of  heathen- 
ism. The  wave  was  then  at  its  lowest  ebb. 
Dr.  Ryland  could  then  bid  Carey  "sit  down," 
and  leave  God  to  care  for  a  lost  world ;  and 
Sydney  Smith  could  sneer  at  the  pious  shoe- 
maker of  Paulerspury,  and  characterize  his 
schemes  as  ''  the  dreams  of  a  dreamer  who 

1  These  are  given  only  as  approximate  figures. 


PREPARATION  OF  THE   CHURCH.    191 

dreams  that  he  has  been  dreaming."  A 
httle  later,  the  Scottish  General  Assembly 
pronounced  the  idea  of  universal  missions 
**  fanatical  and  absurd,  dangerous  and  revo- 
lutionary," and  provoked  old  John  Erskine 
to  open  the  Bible  battery  and  pour  into  them 
hot  shot  and  shell.  Still  later,  the  mission- 
ary pioneers  of  America  timidly  ventured  to 
ask  the  General  Association  of  the  old  Bay 
State  whether  the  zeal  that  God  had  kindled 
in  their  hearts  to  follow  Carey's  footsteps  was 
"  visionary  and  impracticable ;  "  and  Ben- 
jamin W.  Crowninshield  objected,  on  the 
floor  of  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts,  to  the 
proposed  charter  of  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  on  the 
ground  that  it  "  would  export  religion, 
whereas  there  was  none  to  spare  among  our- 
selves," not  knowing  that  "  religion  is  a  com- 
modity of  which  the  more  we  export  the 
more  we  have  remaining." 

And  now,  from  that  low  ebb  of  less  than  a 
century  ago,  the  tide  has  risen  to  a  flood- 
mark  never  before  reached,  and  is  still  rap- 


192  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

idly  rising.  That  same  England  that  then 
sneered  at  Carey  is  to-day  prouder  of  him 
than  Macedon  was  of  Alexander,  Athens,  of 
Pericles,  or  Rome,  of  Cicero.  London  lifts  to 
its  lofty  pedestal  in  the  world's  metropolis, 
the  statue  of  Livingstone,  as  a  perpetual  in- 
centive and  inspiration  to  Christian  colonies 
to  push  into  the  heart  of  the  Dark  Continent. 
The  Scotch  Assembly  now  stands  in  the 
vanguard  of  missions,  and  reverences  Duff 
almost  as  much  as  Paul;  and  American 
churches  urge  their  columns  against  the 
ranks  of  pagan  and  papal  hosts,  and  erect 
missionary  lectureships  in  the  foremost  of 
our  theological  schools,  to  train  young  men 
to  imitate  the  devotion  of  Judson  and  Brain- 
erd,  Martyn  and  Taylor. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  WHITE   HARVEST   FIELDS. 

EFORE  we  pass  to  consider  the 
"  gracious  signs,"  it  may  be  well  for 
us  to  sweep,  as  in  one  comprehensive 
glance,  over  the  wide  fields  made  ready  for 
the  sower,  and  in  many  cases  for  the  sickle, 
by  the  providence  of  God. 

We  have  seen  how,  at  the  outset  of  the 
modern  missionary  campaign,  the  foes  of  the 
kingdom  stood  as  in  one  compact  phalanx, 
—  Herod  and  Pilate  made  friends  together  in 
opposing  Christ;  Oriental  empires  forbidding 
approach ;  Oriental  religions  denouncing 
apostasy  as  a  capital  crime ;  and  Oriental 
churches,  behind  the  empty  shell  of  a  dead 
formalism,  hiding  a  hatred  of  evangelical 
faith,  fully  as  malignant  and  intolerant.  We 
have  seen  God  making  a  highway  for  His 
13 


194  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

chariot  through  the  iron  gates  of  heathen 
hostihty  and  Christian  apathy,  and  joining 
the  centres  of  Christendom  and  Pagandom. 

While  God  permitted  Protestant  England 
to  plant  an  empire  toward  the  sunrise,  the 
Pilgrims  were  driven  to  these  shores  to  sow 
the  seeds  of  a  Christian  republic  beside  the 
setting  sun.  Thus  Britain  was  unconsciously 
reaching  out  eastward  and  westward  to  lay 
the  foundations  for  a  world's  evangelization. 
Then  the  providence  of  God,  by  the  issue  of 
conflicts  in  America  and  India,  settled  the 
question  that  in  both  hemispheres  the  cross, 
and  not  the  crescent  nor  crucifix,  was  to  be 
dominant. 

By  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
Asia  and  America,  respectively,  were  held  by 
the  foremost  Protestant  powers  of  the  world : 
England  having  a  firm  foothold  in  the  critical 
centre  of  Oriental  paganism,  and  controlling 
the  highway  to  the  Indies ;  America  prepar- 
ing not  only  to  evangelize  this  continent,  but 
to  move  westward  and  carry  the  gospel  to 
Polynesia  and  across  the  Pacific. 


THE    WHITE  HARVEST  FIELDS,      195 

Truly  God's  hand  is  in  all  this  history. 
Had  England  not  held  that  highway  to  the 
East,  the  destinies  of  Europe  and  Asia  might 
have  been  changed;  Turkey  divided  between 
Russia  and  France,  if  not  devoured  by  Russia ; 
the  Greek  and  Roman  churches  crossing  the 
mountains  and  swaying  all  Asia.  He,  who 
makes  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him,  uses 
English  power  and  policy  to  check  pope, 
czar,  and  sultan;  to  shield  converts  from 
persecution,  whether  by  Armenians,  Nesto- 
rians,  Moslems,  or  Brahmins;  and  to  drive 
an  entering  wedge  into  the  heart  of  Asia,  to 
cleave  in  twain  gnarled  and  knotted  trunks  of 
Oriental  pagan  empires. 

Meanwhile,  the  seed  sown  at  Plymouth  de- 
velops a  mighty  evangelizing  power,  which 
in  course  of  two  centuries  moves  across  the 
continent,  and,  as  though  there  were  no  more 
sea,  advances  toward  the  eastern  coasts  of 
Asia.  God  has  provided  a  counter-force, 
moving  from  the  opposite  direction,  to  meet 
England  and  oppose  her  cleaving  wedge,  as 
anvil  opposes  hammer,  with   the    resistance 


196  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

not  of  antagonism  but  of  co-operation.  An- 
other irrepressible  conflict  has  come.  Com- 
merce insists,  in  the  name  of  a  common 
human  brotherhood,  that  there  shall  be  an 
open  highway  around  the  globe,  and  knocks 
loudly  at  the  gates  of  exclusive  Eastern  em- 
pires, until  they  are  unbarred.  Then,  where 
commerce,  arms,  and  diplomacy  open  the 
way,  the  gospel  quietly  enters  and  takes 
possession. 

Let  the  glory  be  not  unto  man,  but  unto 
God.  The  nations  were  building  wiser  than 
they  knew  in  constructing  this  level  highway 
for  trade  and  travel.  Back  of  all  was  the 
God  of  nations  with  titanic  blows  cleaving  a 
way  for  His  gospel  from  the  gates  of  the 
Golden  Horn  to  the  Chinese  Sea  through  the 
continent  of  Asia. 

This  same  God  who  thus  prepared  the  way 
for  His  people's  advance,  quickened  their 
dull  consciences  and  sluggish  pulses  to  move 
along  the  lines  He  had  indicated.  When  the 
Church,  immersed  in  selfishness,  carnahty, 
and  scepticism,  is  heedless  both  of  Christian 


THE    WHITE  HARVEST  FIELDS,      igj 

duty  and  human  destitution,  He  sends  a  suc- 
cession of  evangelists,  like  the  minor  proph- 
ets of  the  days  of  Jewish  apostasy,  to  revive 
primitive  faith  and  life.  He  imparts  a  spirit 
of  prayer,  uniting  devout  souls  in  earnest 
supplication.  He  leads  a  few  heroic  disciples 
to  dare  the  assault  on  pagan  strongholds,  and 
moves  the  Church  to  organize  missionary 
boards  to  sustain  and  strengthen  these  work- 
ers and  warriors.  The  whole  plan  bears,  in 
the  very  unity  and  consistency  of  its  parts, 
the  marks  of  one  providential  purpose. 

In  view  of  such  manifest  movincf  of  God's 
providence  in  missions,  is  it  strange  that  the 
missionary  worker  feels  inspired  and  encour- 
aged? He  moves  under  the  very  shadow 
of  the  august  divine  presence;  he  feels 
encom.passed  with  God ;  the  angel  of  His 
presence  goes  before  him.  No  barriers  are 
insurmountable,  no  foes  formidable.  Seas 
dry  up,  mountains  melt  to  plains,  the  children 
of  Amalek  are  routed  and  the  giant  sons 
of  Anak  repulsed,  and  the  walls  of  Satan's 
strongholds  tumble  before  a  blow  is  struck. 


198         THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

Armies  of  aliens  may  encompass  the  humble 
herald  of  Christ,  but  his  eyes  are  opened  to 
see  the  invisible  hosts  of  God  encamping 
round  about  him  to  deliver  him.  Difficulties 
do  not  dismay  his  heroic  soul ;  for  he  knows 
God  is  with  him,  and  that  with  God  nothing 
is  impossible.  He  is  not  restrained  to  save 
by  many  or  by  few ;  the  silver  and  the  gold 
are  His.  He  turneth  the  heart  of  man,  and 
even  of  kings,  whithersoever  He  will ;  and 
He  can  work  so  rapidly  that  with  Him  one 
day  is  as  a  thousand  years. 

The  only  adequate  impulse  or  inspiration 
to  the  work  of  missions  must  be  found,  not 
on  the  human,  but  on  the  divine,  side  of  the 
work.  God's  mind  is  in  the  plan;  God's 
hand  is  in  the  execution  of  it.  Barriers  there 
may  even  yet  be,  insurmountable  by  human 
power;  ignorance,  bigotry,  and  superstition 
may  wage  a  desperate  war  against  the  gospel, 
and  the  fight  may  only  be  the  more  deter- 
mined as  we  come  to  close  quarters.  Nay, 
the  Church  may  cry  "  retrench !  "  while  the 
Lord   says   "  advance !  "    may  withhold    men 


THE    WHITE  HARVEST  FIELDS.      1 99 

and  money  in  her  selfish  avarice  and  world- 
liness;  but  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature  is  to  obey  our  ascended  Lord,  and 
to  move  on  to  an  assured  and  ultimate 
victory. 

Whichever  way  we  turn  our  eyes  to  scan 
the  harvest  field,  the  signs  of  the  times  be- 
token the  immediate  duty  of  putting  in  the 
sickle.  There  are  sure  signs  of  a  day-dawn. 
We  have  passed  the  dull  gray  that  is  the  first 
advance  herald  of  the  morning,  and  even  the 
purple  and  crimson  tints  that  tell  of  the  glory 
hastening  on ;  the  east  shows  something  more 
than  dark  clouds  edged  with  gold,  —  the 
Sun  of  righteousness  is  rising  on  the  world ! 
ChristHeb,  completing  his  survey,  breaks  forth 
in  rapture:  ''Yes,  the  present  is,  thank  God, 
the  century  of  missions,  such  as  has  never 
been.  In  it  the  age  of  world-wide  missions 
has  begun.  More  than  all  the  generations 
on  whose  dust  we  tread  can  we  to-day  take 
up  the  Psalm,  'AH  the  ends  of  the  earth  have 
seen  the  salvation  of  our  God !  '  Let  us  take 
to  ourselves  the  great  consolation  that  to-day, 


200         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

as  never  before,  the  work  is  advancing.  The 
long  and  laborious  process  of  undermining 
the  chief  strongholds  of  heathenism  will  one 
day  be  followed  by  a  great  crash." 

The  final  triumph  of  the  gospel  is  as  sure 
as  the  promises  of  God.  But  we  are  to  use 
prophecy,  not  as  a  sedative  and  narcotic,  but 
as  a  tonic  and  stimulant.  Duty  is  ours,  re- 
sults are  God's.  We  are  not  responsible  for 
conversion,  but  we  are  for  contact.  We  are 
to  go  everywhere  and  preach  the  gospel.  All 
are  to  go,  and  to  go  to  all.  We  are  to  bear 
our  witness  among  all  nations,  and  leave  our 
God  to  bear  His  witness  in  confirmation  of 
our  own.  We  are  to  strike  for  the  strategic 
centres,  the  three  great  empires  that  sway  the 
East,  —  Turkey,  Hindostan,  and  China, —  to 
guide  Japan  in  her  new  awakening,  and  the 
Congo  State  in  its  new  incorporation  among 
the  free  peoples  of  the  civilized  world. 

Fearful  will  be  the  responsibility  of  even 
hesitation,  where  delay  may  imply  disaster 
which  even  centuries  cannot  repair.  Let  us 
promptly  follow  the  Pillar. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE   GRACIOUS   SIGNS. 


I^SIHE  promise  of  supernatural  signs, 
3^S^  which  was  joined  to  our  Lord's 
last  command,  was  sealed,  in  the 
early  history  of  the  Church,  by  actual  fulfil- 
ment; and  disciples  were  thus  emboldened, 
even  in  the  midst  of  threatenings,  to  preach 
the  Word.  Because  those  signs  ceased  in 
fulness  and  frequency,  it  has  been  assumed 
that  they  were  meant  to  serve  a  certain  defi- 
nite purpose  through  a  limited  period.  The 
Scriptures  assign  no  such  limits,  and  the  no- 
tion of  such  limitation  was  an  after-thought, 
and  an  apology  for  their  cessation. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  disappearance 
of  those  early  signs  had  some  connection 
with  the  decline  of  primitive  piety.  If  our 
Lord   designed,  in   some  supernatural  form, 


202  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

to  set  His  seal  and  sanction  upon  the  faithful 
and  universal  preaching  of  the  gospel,  it  is 
still  plain  that,  when  the  Church  lost  her 
separate  character  and  her  pure  faith  and 
her  burning  zeal,  and  became  pervaded  by 
the  spirit  of  the  age,  the  conditions  no  more 
existed  which  were  essential  to  the  continued 
displays  of  His  peculiar  presence  and  power. 
It  may  be  said  that  marked  divine  interposi- 
tions are  no  longer  necessary,  since  the  gos- 
pel has  received  its  sufficient  attestation. 
But  we  notice  that  primitive  saints  besought 
God  to  grant  them  boldness  in  preaching 
His  word,  by  stretching  forth  His  hand  to  heal, 
and  doing  signs  and  wonders  in  the  name  of 
Jesus ;  and  seem  to  have  regarded  such  inter- 
positions as  needful  to  such  boldness. 

Was  there  ever  a  day  when  worldliness 
and  wickedness,  materialism  and  naturalism, 
scepticism  and  atheism,  made  constant  and 
convincing  proofs  of  the  supernatural  more 
needful  to  give  boldness  to  those  who  preach 
the  Word?  It  is  a  fact  that  supernatural 
signs  have  always  abounded,  and  still  abound, 


THE  GRACIOUS  SIGNS.  203 

in  proportion  to  the  measure  of  the  response 
we  yield  to  the  command,  "  Go  ye  into  all 
the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature." 

The  presence  of  God,  by  His  providence, 
in  missionary  history,  is  not  more  marked 
than  the  power  of  His  grace,  in  the  mighty 
results  whose  only  sufficient  and  efficient 
cause  is  the  Divine  Spirit.  Such  grace  fur- 
nishes, and  becomes,  God's  '*  everlasting 
sign."  "  Instead  of  the  thorn  comes  up  the 
fig-tree,  and  instead  of  the  brier,  the  myrtle- 
tree  ;  "  in  other  words,  there  is  a  divine  dis- 
placement of  noxious,  offensive,  and  hurtful 
growths  by  the  fragrant,  beautiful,  fruitful 
plants  of  godliness  and  trees  of  righteous- 
ness ;  and  this  constitutes  the  standing,  per- 
petual miracle  of  the  ages.  This  is  God's 
"  everlasting  sign  which  shall  not  be  cut  off." 
Other  signs  may  fail :  the  deaf  may  no  more 
be  made  to  hear,  the  blind  to  see,  the  lame 
to  leap,  or  the  dumb  to  sing;  but  a  greater 
marvel  continually  proves  that  God  is  Him- 
self tilling  the  soil  of  the  human  heart  and 


204  THE   CRISIS   OF  MISSIONS. 

of  human  society,  for  the  plants  of  heaven 
begin  to  grow,  thrive,  bloom,  and  even  unbe- 
lievers are  compelled  to  confess,  *'  ye  are 
God's  husbandry." 

These  gracious  signs  of  God's  presence  and 
power  may  be  traced  in  three  prominent 
directions :  first,  in  the  transfoi'ination  of 
personal  character^  and  even  entire  commu- 
nities, by  the  gospel;  secondly,  in  the  conse- 
cration of  the  laborers  themselves  to  a  life 
of  heroic  sacrifice ;  and,  thirdly,  in  the  reflex 
i7ifluence  of  missions  itpon  the  church  life, 
lifting  it  to  a  higher  plane  of  unselfish  giv- 
ing and  aggressive  effort.  This  threefold 
effect,  wrought  on  so  large  a  scale  and  in 
so  short  a  time,  argues  a  final  cause  that 
is  nothing  short  of  God  Himself,  and  it  is 
the  more  indisputable  from  the  fact  that  such 
changes  have  been  wrought  against  all  the 
hostile  forces  of  the  natural  heart. 

There  is  no  plea  which  can  be  urged  in 
behalf  of  missions  that  silences  all  objections 
so  promptly,  stirs  the  soul  of  a  believer  so 
profoundly,  or  kindles  a  holy  enthusiasm  so 


THE  GRACIOUS  SIGNS.  205 

rapidly,  as  the  overwhelming  argument  and 
appeal  found  in  the  triumphs  of  God's  grace 
in  heathen  lands.  If  Christ  has  fulfilled  his 
promise,  ''  Lo,  I  am  with  you  ahvay,"  in  the 
interpositions  of  Providence,  even  more  won- 
drously  and  gloriously  has  He  fulfilled  it  in 
the  transformations  of  grace.  These  abun- 
dantly justify  the  emphatic  declaration  already 
made,  that,  in  exact  proportion  to  the  measure 
of  our  fidelity  in  bearing  this  gospel  message 
to  all  men,  is  the  measure  of  God's  direct 
sanction  of  our  work,  "  bearing  witness  both 
with  signs  and  wonders,  and  with  divers 
miracles  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  accord- 
ing to  His  own  will." 

These  ''gracious  signs"  are  so  closely 
linked  with  the  "  providential  signals,"  that 
already  in  considering  the  one  we  have  been 
compelled  largely  to  exhibit  the  other.  For 
example,  in  tracing  the  opening  of  the  doors 
in  India,  Burmah,  Siam,  China,  Japan,  Korea, 
Africa,  and  papal  lands,  we  have  seen  Divine 
Providence  and  grace  working  together. 
Those  inner  walls  of  superstition,  ignorance, 


206  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

prejudice,  Idolatry,  sensuality,  brutality,  could 
never  have  been  thrown  down  by  mere  force ; 
they  were  like  walls  of  ice,  that  could  only 
be  melted  away.  And  so  God  simply  shone^ 
as  only  He  can  shine.  The  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness exerted  His  power:  there  came  super- 
natural light  and  love  and  life  all  mysteriously 
conveyed  in  one  ray,  before  which  Brahmin 
and  Karen,  Siamese  and  Japanese,  pagan  and 
papist,  were  alike  made  new  men  in  Christ 
Jesus. 

There  are,  however,  examples  of  the  super- 
natural power  of  God's  grace,  furnished  in 
the  history  of  modern  missions,  that  ought 
to  be  placed  by  themselves,  lifted  into  promi- 
nence, set  conspicuously  in  the  framework 
of  our  argument.  They  are  the  golden  pages 
in  the  annals  of  missions,  that  shine  with  the 
inapproachable  glory.  We  not  only  see  the 
fig-tree  and  myrtle  springing  up  from  the  same 
soil  which  bore  only  the  thorn  and  the  brier, 
but  we  see  the  twigs  and  leaves  glowing  with 
a  celestial  radiance,  aflame  with  the  same 
glory  that  made  the  bush  burn  in  the  desert 


THE  GRACIOUS  SIGNS.  20/ 

of  Horeb.  This  it  is  which  makes  every 
mission  field  holy  ground,  and  inspires 
every  true  missionary  with  a  holy  passion 
for  the  work  which  brings  such  displays  of 
grace. 

In  confirmation  of  this,  we  take,  quite  at 
random,  a  few  examples  of  individuals,  and 
then  of  communities,  where  God  has  wrought 
these  wonders  of  gracious  transformation. 
Considered  singly,  they  present  a  proof  of 
the.  power  of  God  beyond  the  possibility  of 
explanation  by  the  sceptic  or  infidel;  nay, 
beyond  the  philosophy  of  those  who  beheve 
in  the  omnipotence  of  mere  culture  and 
civilization.  Considered  together,  they  fur- 
nish overwhelming  evidence  of  the  fact  that 
the  gospel  is  still  both  the  power  of  God 
and  the  wisdom  of  God  unto  salvation,  able 
to  reach  both  the  highest  and  the  lowest  type 
of  man. 

Mrs.  Rhea  has  said  that  it  would  be  a 
blessed  thing  to  look  at  Christ  through  the 
eyes  of  Moses  the  friend  of  God,  or  David 
the  Messianic  psalmist,  or  Isaiah  the    Mes- 


208  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

sianic  prophet,  or  John  the  beloved  disciple, 
or  Paul  the  chosen  vessel ;  but  that  she  would 
rather  see  Jesus  through  the  eyes  of  a  con- 
verted pagan  woman,  than  through  those  of 
prophet  or  apostle.  And  her  words  are  not 
hard  to  understand.  For  to  none  of  the 
goodly  fellowship  of  the  prophets,  or  the 
holy  company  of  the  apostles,  could  He 
appear  so  wondrously  beautiful  as  to  her 
whom,  by  His  love  and  grace,  He  had  lifted 
out  of  the  horrible  pit  and  miry  clay  of 
association  with  soulless  cattle  and  beasts 
of  burden !  Woman  in  pagan  lands  has  for 
thousands  of  years  been  unreached  by  any 
uplifting  power.  Even  Greece,  at  the  summit 
of  culture  and  refinement,  could  offer  her 
education  only  as  the  badge  of  a  courtesan. 
But  as  soon  as  the  religion  of  Jesus  reached 
her,  she  found  that  she  had  a  soul,  and  her 
intellectual,  moral,  and  social  condition  began 
at  once  to  feel  the  elevating  power  of  the 
gospel;  and  in  proportion  as  that  gospel 
reaches,  touches,  moves,  and  moulds  woman, 
does  she  become  what  God  meant  her  to  be. 


THE  GRACIOUS  SIGNS.  209 

the  last  and  best  of  His  creation,  the  com- 
panion, counsellor,  partner  of  man. 

In  referring  thus  emphatically  to  the  work 
done   by   the    gospel    of   Christ   in    and   for 
woman,  we   take   her   only   as   the   type   of 
humanity  in  its  lowest  depths  of  destitution 
and    degradation.       However    low    sin    and 
superstition  have  sunk  man  in  pagan  lands, 
woman  is  ahva3^s  found  one  grade  lower,  for 
she   is  under  man's  feet.      The   ruin   is   yet 
more  absolute  and  awful  in  her  case  than  in 
his.      The  power,  that  can  reach  and   raise 
the  lowest,  can  reach  and  raise  whatever  lies 
above  it;   and  no  better  proofs   are  needed 
of  what  the  Christian  religion  can  do,  than 
are  found  in  what  it  has  done  and  is  doing. 
Nowhere  can  mankind,  and  especially  woman- 
kind, be  found  in  lower  depths  of  mental, 
moral,  and  social  degradation  than  they  were 
in  Australia,    Polynesia,   and    such    lands    of 
the  death-shade,  whose  savages  were  scarce 
one  grade  higher  than  the  brutes  they  hunted 
and  killed.    The  Papuan,  Maori,  and  Malagasy 
seemed  lost  both  to  God  and  to  humanity, — 
14 


210  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

coins  whose  original  image  and  superscrip- 
tion were  worn  off;  yet  they  were  restored 
to  humanity  and  to  God,  to  be  worn  as  pre- 
cious, burnished  pieces  of  silver  on  the  neck- 
lace of  the  Bride  of  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  TRANSFORMATIONS   OF  GRACE. 


T  is  one  of  the  mysterious  sayings  of 
prophecy,  that  in  the  golden  age 
that  is  coming,  even  the  wolf,  bear, 
leopard,  and  lion  are  to  be  led  by  a  little 
child.  Already  we  have  foretastes  of  the  ful- 
filment of  this  prediction.  That  little  child 
born  in  Bethlehem,  who,  in  all  His  manly, 
godly  growth  in  wisdom  and  stature  and  in 
favor  with  God  and  man,  never  lost  the  child- 
like spirit,  takes  by  the  hand  and  leads  men 
as  rapacious  as  the  wolf,  as  treacherous  as 
the  leopard,  as  ferocious  as  the  bear  or  the 
lion. 

When  Robert  Moffat  proposed  to  go  to 
Africaner,  the  terrible  demon  of  the  Dark 
Continent,  he  was  warned  that  he  was  an 
incarnate  fiend,  who  would  make  a  virtue  of 


212  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

cruelty,  and  murder  him  that  he  might  make 
a  drum-head  of  his  skin  and  a  drinking-cup 
of  his  skull.  But  Moffat  had  faith  in  the 
gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  This  Hottentot 
chief  had  been  driven  north  by  Dutch  in- 
vaders until,  taking  his  refuge  beyond  the 
Orange  River,  he  became  a  daring  and  des- 
perate outlaw,  robbing  and  murdering  his 
victims,  and  swaying  a  wide  region  with  the 
iron  sceptre  of  terror.  The  colonial  govern- 
ments set  a  price  upon  his  capture,  dead  or 
alive,  and  hired  neighboring  chiefs  to  make 
war  upon  him;  but  in  vain.  In  1818  Moffat 
ventured  to  take  up  his  abode  with  Africaner. 
A  change  took  place  in  the  diabolical  ruffian, 
so  complete  that  it  was  a  new  creation.  His 
outward  and  inward  life  was  transformed ;  he 
became  a  man  of  peace;  the  helper,  friend, 
nurse  of  the  missionary;  a  student  of  the 
New  Testament,  an  evangelist  in  spirit,  a 
winner  of  souls.  Robert  Moffat's  success 
was  based  on  his  confidence  in  the  power  of 
the  gospel  to  tame  the  fiercest  and  most 
ferocious  men,  and  he  saw  that  man,  who  in 


THE  TRANSFORMA  TIONS  OF  GRA  CE.  2 1 3 

himself  combined  wolf,  bear,  leopard,  and 
lion,  turned  into  a  lamb. 

What  hope  could  there  be  of  a  South  Sea 
islander  who,  in  pure  malice  of  cruelty,  first 
slew  his  little  brother  without  pity,  and  then 
sent  the  corpse  to  his  king  for  a  sacrifice  ! 
Dead  to  love,  alive  only  to  hate,  making 
sport  of  murder,  and  murder  a  sport !  Yet 
he  is  but  a  representative  —  as  Paul  would 
say,  "  a  pattern" —  of  thousands  from  v/hom, 
as  from  him,  have  been  cast  out  a  legion  of 
demons. 

Sau  Quala,  the  Karen  slave,  was  by  that 
same  gospel  brought  to  Christ  as  the  first 
Karen  convert,  and  then  changed  into  an 
apostolic  worker.  He  aided  the  missionaries 
in  the  translation  of  the  Word,  and  for  fifteen 
years  guided  them  through  the  jungles  in 
their  missionary  journeys  in  Tavoy  and  Mer- 
gui;  then  his  holy  zeal  could  no  longer  be 
pent  up,  and  he  began  himself  to  walk 
through  the  country  preaching,  gathering  con- 
verts, planting  churches,  within  three  years 
organizing    nearly  twenty-five    hundred    new 


214         THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

disciples  into  over  thirty  congregations.  His 
work  was  one  of  love,  performed  in  the  most 
heroically  unselfish  spirit;  his  voluntary  pov- 
erty compelled  him  to  leave  his  lovely  wife 
behind  him,  because  he  could  not  afford 
the  luxury  of  her  companionship;  and,  in 
the  face  of  the  offer  of  a  lucrative  govern- 
ment position,  he  continued  his  self-denying 
labor,  refusing  to  mix  up  secular  labor  with 
the  Lord's  work.  Dr.  Anderson  closes  his 
little  biographical  sketch  of  this  Karen  apos- 
tle with  the  exclamation,  "  Admirable  man ! 
Where  shall  we  find  his  equal  in  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  Christ !  "  Yet  from  what  depths 
of  ignorance,  selfishness,  and  superstition,  the 
gospel  lever  lifted  Sau  Quala! 

During  the  revival  in  Fidelia  Fiske's  Holy- 
oke  school  in  Persia,  Guergis,  *'  the  vilest  of 
the  Nestorians,"  came  to  visit  his  daughter  in 
the  school.  He  was  in  full  Koordish  dress, 
with  gun  and  dagger.  As  the  girls  wept  and 
prayed,  he  sneered  and  mocked.  His  daugh- 
ter prayed  for  him.  He  raised  his  fist  to 
strike  her,  but  the  Lord  held  it  back.     Miss 


THE  TRANSFORMA  TIONS  OF  GRA  CE.  215 

Fiske  sought  to  win  him,  but  he  continued 
to  laugh  and  scorn  for  days.  Then  suddenly, 
as  if  by  a  lightning-stroke,  he  was  struck 
down.  He  wept  and  prayed,  went  away  to 
be  alone  with  God,  and  came  back  an  en- 
tirely changed  man.  The  gun  and  dagger 
were  no  more  to  be  seen.  Bowed  down  with 
the  weight  of  his  sin,  he  declared  that  even 
"  if  there  were  no  hell  he  could  not  bear  such 
a  load."  He  found  rest  in  believing,  and 
henceforth  all  he  could  say  was,  "  My  great 
sins  and  my  great  Saviour !  "  Even  Miss 
Fiske,  stunned  by  the  miracle  of  such  a  con- 
version, doubted  his  sincerity.  But  until  his 
death  Deacon  Guergis  continued  with  lips 
and  life  to  tell  of  Jesus.  You  might  have 
met  him  travelling  along  the  mountains,  in 
his  red  trousers,  striped  jacket,  and  big  tur- 
ban, with  Testament  and  hymn-book  in  place 
of  gun  and  dagger,  talking  of  sin  and  sal- 
vation, and  singing  with  stentorian  voice, 
"  Rock  of  Ages,"  "  There  is  a  Fountain,"  etc. 
On  his  dying  bed  he  would  rouse  up  and 
shout,  "■  Oh,  it  was  free  grace,  free  grace !  " 


2l6  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

j  U.  Bor.  Sing,  the  heir  of  the  Rajah  of 
ICherra,  India,  was  converted  by  the  Welsh 
missionaries.  He  was  warned  that  in  joining 
the  Christians  he  would  probably  forfeit  his 
right  to  be  King  of  Cherra  after  the  death 
of  Rham  Sing,  who  then  ruled,  but  who,  eigh- 
teen months  afterward,  died.  The  chiefs  of 
the  tribes  met  and  unanimously  decided  that 
Bor.  Sing  was  entitled  to  succeed  him,  but 
that  his  Christian  profession  stood  in  the 
way.  Messenger  after  messenger  was  sent, 
urging  him  to  recant.  He  was  invited  to  the 
native  council,  and  told  that  if  he  would  put 
aside  his  religious  profession  they  would  all 
acknowledge  him  as  king.  His  answer  was : 
^'  Put  aside  my  Christian  profession?  I  can 
put  aside  my  head-dress,  or  my  cloak;  but 
as  for  the  covenant  I  have  made  with  my 
God,  I  cannot  for  any  consideration  put  that 
aside !  "  Another  was  therefore  appointed 
king  in  his  stead.  Since  then  he  has  been 
impoverished  by  litigation  about  landed  prop- 
erty, till  he  is  now  in  danger  of  arrest  and 
imprisonment;    and    Mr.    Elliott,   the    Com- 


THE  TRANSFORMA  TIONS  OF  GRA  CE.  21/ 

missioner  of  Assam,  has  appealed  to  Chris- 
tians in  this  country  on  his  behalf.  Here  is 
a  convert  rejecting  a  crown  for  Christ ! 

Rev.  John  Thomas,  of  the  Church  Mission- 
ary Society,  has  said  of  a  convert  among 
the  Shanars  who  died  in  i860,  that  he  was, 
without  exception,  the  ablest  and  most 
eloquent  native  preacher  in  India.  "■  His 
affection,  simplicity,  honesty,  straightforward- 
ness, amazing  pulpit  talents,  and  profound 
humility,  endeared  him  to  me  more  than  I 
can  describe,"  said  this  beloved  missionary, 
who  also  pronounced  his  last  sermon  on  the 
text,  ''  enduring  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame,"  the  greatest  sermon  he  ever  heard 
in  its  exaltation  of  Christ  and  its  overwhelm- 
ing effect. 

**  Blind  Bartimeus,"  of  the  Hawaiian  Isl- 
ands, is  another  example  of  transforming 
grace.  Out  of  the  lowest  depths  of  pagan 
vice  and  vileness  he  rose  to  a  level  with  the 
most  earnest,  consecrated,  self-oblivious  dis- 
ciples and  laborers.  His  wonderful  insight 
into  the  truth,  his  inspired  imagination,  his 


2l8  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

white-heat  of  ardor  and  fervor,  his  conta- 
gious enthusiasm,  his  passionate  love  for 
souls,  enabled  him  to  preach  the  most  severe 
truths  with  the  tenderness  of  a  seraph;  and 
his  familiarity  with  the  Word  of  God  made 
him,  blind  as  he  was,  a  walking  concordance. 
There  is  not  a  missionary  field  where  such 
triumphs  of  grace  may  not  be  constantly 
seen;  transformations  of  character  quite  as 
marvellous  and  as  absolutely  inexplicable 
without  a  divine  factor,  as  any  miracle  of 
apostolic  days.  Dr.  Lindley  used  to  say  that 
when  a  native  Zulu,  trading  some  trifling 
article  for  a  calico  shirt,  duck  breeches,  and  a 
three-legged  stool,  got  his  shirt  and  breeches 
on  and  sat  on  his  little  stool,  he  was  a  thou- 
sand miles  above  all  his  fellows.  But  this  is 
only  civilization.  We  must  follow  that  poor 
Zulu,  just  clothed,  till  the  Word  of  God  takes 
root  in  his  soul,  and  he  becomes  not  only 
beautiful  and  fruitful  in  holiness,  but  a 
preacher  and  a  winner  of  souls,  giving  the 
life  that  has  been  plucked  as  a  burning  brand 
from    the    fire    of   an    earthly    hell,    to    be 


THE  TRANSFORMA  TIONS  OF  GRA  CE.  2 1 9 

consumed  on  the  altar  of  Christian  service; 
and  then  we  begin  to  understand  how  much 
farther  reach  the  transforming  influences  of 
Christianity  than  those  of  mere  civilization. 
The  Portuguese  called  the  Hottentots  *'  a 
race  of  apes,"  and  Dr.  Vanderkemp  read 
over  church-doors  in  Cape  Colony,  ''  Dogs 
and  Hottentots  not  admitted."  Yet  out  of 
those  Hottentots  what  disciples  have  been 
developed ! 

The  Chinese  in  this  country  are  the  butt  of 
ridicule  and  the  object  of  contempt  and  vio- 
lence; yet  Rev.  Dr.  Nevius  and  Hunter 
Corbett  have,  with  simple  Chinese  converts, 
been  working  wonders  of  evangelism  that 
rival  apostolic  days.  On  their  itinerating 
tours,  finding  a  few  here  and  there  open  to 
the  gospel,  they  send  out  these  new  converts 
to  tell  the  story  to  their  countrymen ;  and  so 
does  this  gospel  transform  the  lazy,  selfish, 
sordid  Chinaman,  that  these  missionaries  find 
scores  of  lay  helpers  ready  to  give  their  lives 
to  the  work  of  gathering  other  converts  to 
Christ.     And  so  in  China  hundreds  are  every 


220  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

year  won  to  Christ  by  lay  evangelists  whose 
whole  compensation  averages  from  three  to 
five  dollars  a  month ! 

The  first  messenger  of  Christ  to  carry  the 
Bible  into  Korea  and  offer  it  to  the  King  was 
a  Chinese  convert.  The  noblest  examples  of 
self-denial,  separation  unto  God,  passion  for 
souls,  singleness  of  aim,  evangelistic  zeal, 
and  liberal  systematic  giving,  which  have 
been  found  during  this  century,  have  been 
the  outgrowth  of  missionary  fields,  and  often 
of  the  most  hopeless  soil,  previously  rank 
with  every  unholy  product.  The  new  con- 
verts from  the  most  degraded  tribes  have 
often  put  to  shame  the  ripest  fruits  of  our 
Christian  civilization ! 

In  January,  1872,  during  the  week  of 
prayer,  one  or  two  Japanese  converts,  re- 
cently brought  to  Christ  and  taught  in  the 
private  classes  of  the  missionaries,  came  into 
the  English  meeting  at  Yokohama.  There 
they  heard  read  and  expounded,  the  story  of 
that  first  Pentecost  from  the  Book  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Aposdes.     As  though  themselves 


THE  TRANSFORM  A  TIONS  OF  GRA  CE.  221 

set  on  fire  with  pentecostal  flames,  they  fell 
on  their  knees,  and  with  prayers  like  those  of 
Daniel  and  Paul,  besought  God  to  pour  out 
the  Spirit  in  a  new  Pentecost  upon  Japan,  till 
even  the  captains  of  the  English  and  Amer- 
ican war-ships  wept  and  said,  ''  The  prayers 
of  these  new  Japanese  converts  take  the  heart 
out  of  us." 

In  a  personal  communication  to  the  au- 
thor, the  Rev.  William  Ashmore,  D.D.,  of 
Swatow,  China,  writes,  as  to  the  signs  of 
divine  grace  among  the  Chinese :  — 

"  Bring  of  the  fish  which  ye  have  now  caught^ 
*'  The  converts  give  evidence,  all-sufficient,  that 
they  are  of  the  kind  the  Master  takes  to  Himself, 
and  not  those  which  are  thrown  away.  Conver- 
sion in  China  is  followed  by  exactly  the  same 
fruits  as  in  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  Love  to  all 
the  saints  they  evince  in  word  and  in  deed.  Next 
to  the  love  of  Christ,  which  reigns  supreme,  this 
sympathy  and  large-hearted  active  charity  to  per- 
secuted brethren  in  other  places  is  noteworthy. 
Before  conversion  they  cared  nothmg  about  suf- 
fering people  elsewhere  ;  but  now,  hearing  that 
some  whom  they  have  never  seen  are  driven  from 


222  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

their  homes  for  Christ's  sake,  they  are  ready  to 
share  with  them  what  little  they  have. 

"  The  crucial  test  of  a  man's  faith  in  China  is 
his  repudiation  of  ancestral  worship  for  himself 
after  death.  An  old  Christian  called  his  idol- 
worshipping  sons  to  his  bedside,  and,  gathering 
all  his  remaining  strength  in  one  last  effort, 
charged  them  to  send  for  the  Christians  to  read 
the  Scriptures  at  his  funeral,  and  pray  and  sing 
about  the  resurrection,  and,  under  pain  of  his  dis- 
pleasure, have  no  heathen  ceremonies  over  him 
and  no  offerings  made  to  him  after  he  was  gone. 
Knowing  their  perversity,  he  even  threatened  that 
if  any  heathen  rites  should  disgrace  his  burial, 
and  the  Lord  would  permit,  his  spirit  would  come 
back  and  manifest  his  abhorrence.  Another,  a 
poor  woman,  after  asking  for  prayer  and  render- 
ing up  her  own  praise,  handed  me  the  savings  of 
a  lifetime,  —  more  than  two  hundred  dollars,  — 
begging  me  to  use  them  for  Jesus.  The  last  re- 
quest of  her  husband  was,  that  when  his  tomb 
should  be  made,  there  might  be  written  upon  it 
simply  his  name,  and  after  it,  'a  disciple  of  Jesus.' 
Having  been  a  faithful  witness  in  his  life,  he 
wished  to  continue  witnessing  after  his  death." 

Let  these  few  individual  examples,  drawn 
from   the   sable   sons   of  Africa,  the  Karen 


THE  TRANSFORMA  TIONS  OF  GRA CE.  223 

slaves  of  Burmah,  the  wild  Koords  of  Persia, 
the  superstitious  Brahmins  of  India,  the  vile 
pagans  of  Polynesia,  the  iron-bound  Con- 
fucianists  of  China,  and  the  benighted  Buddh- 
ists of  Japan,  stand  as  illustrations  of  the  fact 
that  wherever  the  gospel  goes,  its  career  is 
one  of  conquest.  God  is  with  His  own  Word, 
and  it  returns  not  to  Him  void. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  PRODUCTS   OF   GOD'S   HUSBANDRY. 

E  turn  from  individual  examples  of 
the  fruits  of  grace  on  heathen  soil  to 
consider  a  few  of  the  broader  fields, 
which  have  brought  forth  some  thirty,  some 
sixty,  and  some  even  an  hundred  fold  under 
God's  gracious  tillage.  If  the  conversion  and 
sanctification  of  individuals  is  a  remarkable 
proof  of  divine  power,  what  shall  be  said  of 
communities  where  the  whole  aspect  and 
prospect  of  affairs  have  been  not  only 
rapidly,  but  radically,  transformed  ! 

In  1816  William  A.  B.  Johnson,  a  plain 
German  laborer,  went  from  London,  as  a 
school-teacher,  to  Sierra  Leone.  When  he 
first  went  to  Regent's  Town  he  found  a  thou- 
sand people  saved  from  the  holds  of  slave- 


PRODUCTS  OF  GOD'S  HUSBANDRY.  225 

ships ;  they  were  wild  and  naked,  represented 
twenty-two  hostile  tribes,  and  seemed  abso- 
lutely beyond  reformation.  They  had  no 
morals,  but  were  shiftless,  brutal  thieves  and 
murderers,  crowding  together  in  filthy  huts, 
without  even  the  conception  of  marriage; 
and  as  to  religion,  that  was  devil-worship. 
Johnson  cast  himself  on  that  gospel  which 
is  the  power  and  the  wisdom  of  God  unto 
salvation,  and  before  one  year  had  passed,  old 
and  young  began  to  inquire  after  salvation ; 
the  woods  heard  their  whispered  prayers, 
and  the  hills  echoed  with  their  hymns.  The 
whole  aspect  of  the  settlement  was  changed. 
Trades  and  even  learned  professions  took  the 
place  of  lawlessness  and  violence ;  idleness 
and  ignorance  gave  way  to  industry  and  in- 
telligence. They  built  a  stone  church,  which 
was  regularly  filled  with  nearly  two  thousand 
worshippers,  and  schools  were  crowded  with 
children.  Marriage  took  the  place  of  pro- 
miscuous concubinage ;  the  Lord's  Supper 
displaced  heathen  revels ;  and  thievery,  pro- 
fanity, and  blasphemy  ceased.  All  this  John- 
15 


226  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

son    saw,    yet    he    died    in    1823.      All   this 
change  was  the  fruit  of  seven  years. 

The  existing  Christian  community  in  Tur- 
key is  an  unanswerable  proof  of  what  the 
gospel  can  do,  even  in  soil  as  hopeless  as 
that  of  the  Sultan's  doniinions.  Here  are 
exhibited  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  in  superior 
intelligence  and  integrity,  morality  and  spirit- 
uality, Christian  activity  and  benevolence. 
Wheeler's  "  Ten  Years  on  the  Euphrates  "  is 
one  of  the  most  thrilling  books  in  our  mis- 
sionary library.  It  shows  us  how,  along  the 
great  river  Euphrates,  scores  of  self-support- 
ing churches  have  been  planted,  sustaining 
their  own  native  pastors,  and  demonstrating 
the  practicability  of  the  tithe-system  as  the 
financial  basis  of  evangelization.  Some  of 
these  churches  began  with  but  ten  believers ; 
but  each  conscientiously  gave  his  tithe,  and 
these  ten  tithes  constituted  a  sum,  equal  to 
the  average  income  of  those  poor  church- 
members,  to  support  a  pastor  willing  to  live 
on  a  level  with  his  people,  and  leaving  him 
his  tithe  likewise  to  offer  to  the   Lord,  and 


PRODUCTS  OF  GOD'S  HUSBANDRY.   22/ 

yet    have    as    much    as    they    for    his    own 
use. 

And  so  from  the  Tigris  to  the  Bosphorus, 
in  face  of  the  despotic  oppression  and  per- 
secuting hostihty  of  the  Turkish  government, 
Protestant  churches  have  not  only  been  organ- 
ized, and  have  outHved  all  hinderances  to  life 
and  growth,  but  have  waxed  strong  wrestling 
with  the  storm;  and  it  is  hoped  that  these 
churches  in  the  Ottoman  Empire  w^ill  soon  be 
able  to  dismiss  missionary  oversight  and  take 
care  of  their  own  Christian  work,  not  only 
self-supporting  and  self-governing,  but  self- 
propagating. 

The  *' Lone  Star"  Mission  among  the  Te- 
lugus  has  for  eight  years  been  the  cynosure 
of  all  eyes.  At  one  time  it  had  almost  ceased 
to  shine,  however  feebly;  then  it  suddenly 
blazed  forth  with  a  brilliancy  like  that  of  Sir- 
ius.  At  the  anniversary  meetings  in  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  in  1853,  it  was  proposed  to  abandon 
this  mission,  as  both  a  fruitless  and  hopeless 
enterprise.  At  least  thirteen  years  seemed  to 
have  been  spent  in  vain.     On  that  occasion 


228  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

Dr.   S.  F.   Smith  wrote   and    published   the 
poem  beginning 

"Shine  on,  Lone  Star!  thy  radiance  bright 
Shall  yet  illume  the  western  sky,"  etc. 

Twenty-five  years  passed  away,  and  the 
eventful  year  1 878  came.  In  that  same  "  Lone 
Star  "  Mission  there  was  a  display  of  divine 
grace  that  has  had  no  parallel  since  the 
first  Pentecost.  A  spiritual  harvest  was  there 
gathered  which  seemed  to  many  incredible. 
Within  twenty- one  days  there  were  added  to 
one  church  in  Ongole  5,429  new  converts, 
and  on  one  day,  2,222.  Still  later,  in  that 
same  field,  there  were  3,262  additional  bap- 
tisms, making  the  whole  number  baptized 
from  June  16  to  July  31,  —  forty-five  days, — 
nearly  9,000  !  probably  exceeding  the  harvest 
of  the  first  Pentecost.  That  church  in  Ongole 
was  organized  in  1867,  only  eleven  years 
before,  with  eight  souls.  In  those  eleven 
years  every  one  of  those  little  ones  literally 
"  became  a  thousand."  (Isa.  Ix.  22 ;  Ps. 
Ixxii.  16.) 


PRODUCTS   OF  GOD'S  HUSBANDRY.  229 

Nor  were  these  converts  hastily  gathered 
or  carelessly  admitted.  The  severe  famine  of 
1877  had  made  the  feeding  of  the  starving 
the  work  of  the  mission.  And  lest  any 
should  be  moved  to  join  the  mission  church 
from  mercenary  motives,  and  because  there 
was  neither  time  nor  strength  to  examine 
candidates,  those  who  applied  for  baptism 
were  kept  waiting  till  the  pressure  of  famine 
was  relieved.  In  fact,  not  one  hundred  of 
the  number  received  ever  had  from  the  mis- 
sionaries the  value  of  a  quarter  of  a  cent.  As 
we  look  back,  we  see  that  these  fruits,  instead 
of  being  overstated,  are  understated.  Sixty 
thousand  people  during  that  memorable  year 
turned  to  the  living  God  from  vain  idols  in 
Southern  India. 

What  a  white  harvest  field  may  be  found 
in  the  empire  of  Japan  !  That  edict  against 
Christianity  has  never  been  repealed,  and  yet 
what  headway  the  gospel  has  made  there, 
overcoming  even  opposition !  At  first,  only 
secular  teaching  was  permitted  ;  then,  as  this 
Christian  teaching  more  and  more  savored  of 


230  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

the  salt  of  the  gospel,  it  was  tolerated ;  then 
preaching  in  private  was  followed  by  assem- 
blies for  Christian  worship  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  Christian  churches.  In  1865  the  first 
convert  was  enrolled.  In  March,  1872,  the 
first  Christian  congregation  of  Yokohama  was 
formed  with  eleven  members, — the  first-fruits 
of  the  prayers  of  those  few  Japanese  in  the 
week  of  prayer  just  before.  Within  ten  years 
those  eleven  have  multiplied  one  hundred- 
fold. In  October,  1880,  the  natives  held  a 
meeting  in  the  open  air  on  the  grounds  of  a 
hotel  in  the  public  park  at  Uyeno ;  some  four 
or  five  thousand  people  were  in  attendance, 
and  the  meeting  lasted  two  days.  It  was 
openly  advertised  in  the  native  newspapers, 
and  publicly  announced  by  large  post-bills, 
which  met  the  eye  everywhere,  and  one  of 
them  on  the  very  spot  where  the  old  edict 
board  had  so  long  stood.  The  mighty  mo- 
mentum of  the  gospel  is  felt  even  by  the 
government,  and  before  it  even  the  spirit  of 
opposition  is  giving  way.  Japan  has  been 
taken  possession  of  by  the  Church  of  Christ, 


PRODUCTS  OF  GOD'S  HUSBANDRY.   231 

and  the  key  to  that  Sunrise  Kingdom  is  the 
common  school. 

The  changes  in  the  Japanese  Empire  are 
far  more  rapid  and  radical  than  we  appre- 
ciate; and  they  are  triumphs  not  of  civiliza- 
tion only,  but  of  Christianity.  Fukuzawa,  in 
advocating  the  adoption  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion by  the  State  as  a  measure  of  political 
advancement,  may  disavow  all  personal  adhe- 
sion to  it  as  a  disciple ;  but  his  two  sons  are 
at  Oberlin,  and  are  Christians.  The  natives, 
even  the  most  educated,  cannot  but  feel  the 
superiority  of  the  gospel  to  their  heathen 
systems ;  and  they  marvel  as  they  see  how, 
without  even  naming  an  idol,  Christian  dis- 
ciples have  a  "  splendid  way  of  dying."  At 
Kioto,  the  priests  organized  a  Society  of 
Natural  Religion,  to  oppose  Christianity,  and 
called  it  the  *'  Yaso  Taiji ;  "  but  the  govern- 
ment forbade  the  use  of  the  obnoxious  word 
''Taiji,"  as  implying  an  intention  of  violent 
antagonism.  The  priests  may  conspire  to 
oppose,  but  the  religion  of  Christ  is  laying 
hold  of  the  people. 


232  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

Dr.  Hepburn  thinks  that,  if  all  foreign  mis- 
sionaries were  expelled  to-morrow,  the  natives 
would  carry  on  the  work.  It  is  said  that  in 
one  district,  since  1873,  seventy-one  Buddhist 
temples  have  been  abandoned  to  secular  uses, 
and  since  1871  seven  hundred  throughout  the 
empire. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  American  Board  at 
Syracuse  in  1879  President  Seelye  moved  the 
following  deliverance :  — 

"Never  before  has  the  gospel  wrought  such 
great  and  speedy  changes  as  during  the  past  seven 
years  in  Japan.  It  is  not  only  the  most  remarka- 
ble chapter  in  the  history  of  modern  missions,  but 
there  is  nothing  in  the  history  of  the  world  to  com- 
pare with  it.  We  talk  about  the  early  triumphs  of 
Christianity,  but  the  early  records  of  the  Church, 
bright  as  they  may  be,  pale  in  the  light  of  what  is 
taking  place  before  our  eyes  at  the  present  time. 
Even  Madagascar  offers  nothing  to  compare  with 
Japan." 

Japan  possesses  two  thousand  newspapers, 
—  all  the  outgrowth  of  twenty-five  years,  — 
more   than    Italy,  or  Austria,  or   Spain  and 


PRODUCTS  OF  GOD'S  HUSBANDRY.   233 

Russia  combined,  and  twice  as  many  as  all 
Asia  beside.  Scholars  of  Europe  and  Japan 
are  making  a  new  alphabet  of  Roman  letters 
to  represent  the  eight  thousand  Japanese 
characters ;  a  Japanese-Latin  lexicon  has 
been  made,  and  Japanese-English  books  are 
now  preparing.  In  Fukuzawa's  school  at 
Tokio  a  missionary  is  teaching,  and  Bible 
doctrine  is  prominent.  Fifteen  students  re- 
cently asked  baptism.  We  do  not  appreciate 
the  rapid  elimination  of  the  Asiatic  features 
from  the  government,  and  of  the  antiquated 
Oriental  ideas  from  the  popular  mind.  The 
entire  New  Testament  is  now  given  to  the 
people  in  their  own  tongue,  and  the  Bible 
societies  are  scattering  the  leaves  of  the  Tree 
of  Life ;  the  Christian  press  is  filling  the  land 
with  a  Christian  literature ;  schools  are  gath- 
ering both  boys  and  girls,  and  there  are  three 
theological  seminaries ;  and  the  Island  Em- 
pire adopts  a  Christian  type  of  civilization. 

Mr.  Tamura,  a  Japanese  now  in  America, 
acknowledges  the  fivefold  debt  which  Japan 
owes  to  this  country :    i.  The  opening  of  that 


234         THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

island  empire  to  the  world.  2.  The  influence 
of  America  on  the  political  life  of  Japan. 
3.  The  pattern  furnished  for  her  educational 
system.  4.  The  aid  given  to  Japan  in  securing 
an  international  standing.  5.  The  introduc- 
tion of  Christianity.  Upon  this  last  "  debt " 
he  expatiates  in  no  ordinary  terms.  He  says 
that  the  empire  was  like  a  decaying  tree, 
whose  fruit  was  cruelty,  bloodshed,  and  cor- 
ruption. ''Even  hope  was  dead.  In  1859 
the  sower  came,  bearing  the  seed  of  truth 
and  life  and  hope.  The  Sun  of  Righteousness 
began  to  shine,  and  the  dark  clouds  of  Shin- 
tooism,  Confucianism,  and  Buddhism  began 
to  melt  away."  He  testifies  to  the  wonderful 
rapidity  with  which  the  gospel  roots  itself  in 
the  soil  of  Japan.  *'  During  the  last  ten  years 
over  one  hundred  churches  organized ;  over 
eight  thousand  souls  saved.  The  evangeliza- 
tion of  Japan  is  at  hand."  Thus  while  scep- 
tical travellers  are  reviling  and  ridiculing  the 
work  of  missions,  the  natives  of  these  lands 
are  loud-voiced  in  testimony  to  their  value. 
We  have  already  seen  how  difficult  a  field 


PRODUCTS  OF  GOD'S  HUSBANDRY.  235 

China  presented  for  even  a  divine  husbandry. 
Missionaries  labored  in  Foochow  for  thirty 
years,  among  two  miihons  of  people.  Eleven 
years  of  that  thirty  left  behind  not  one  con- 
vert, and  scarce  a  visible  token  of  good,  to 
reward  all  the  labor  and  prayer  expended. 
Even  the  Church  Missionary  Society  said, 
"There  are  no  results  that  justify  the  continu- 
ance of  the  mission."  But  Mr.  Wolfe,  their 
missionary,  said,  ''I  will  not  give  up  this 
work ;  "  and  a  few  months  later  the  first 
convert  was  baptized,  then  three  more,  and, 
eighteen  years  after,  there  were  three  thou- 
sand native  disciples  in  Foochow.  Ten  years 
ago  it  was  reported  that  there  were  over 
three  hundred  Protestant  churches,  with  fif- 
teen thousand  members  and  fifty  thousand 
adherents;  and  these  congregations,  rapidly 
advancing  towards  self-support,  contributing 
$20,000  annually.  The  appetite  for  reading 
is  such  that  the  Chinese  fight  each  other 
in  their  eagerness  to  seize  tracts  distributed 
among  them  by  the  missionaries ;  and  in  one 
year  the  mission  presses  at  Shanghai  yielded 


236  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

to  the  Presbyterian  Board  five  per  cent  upon 
the  whole  amount  spent  that  year  for  all 
its  missions  throughout  the  world.  A  whole 
town  of  five  hundred  inhabitants  is  lately 
reported  as  embracing  Christianity. 

In  Sanui,  eighty  miles  from  Canton,  an  un- 
successful endeavor  was  made  to  get  control 
of  a  spacious  temple ;  it  was  refused  at  any 
price.  Three  years  after  it  was  offered  for  the 
nominal  price  of  twenty  dollars  a  year;  and 
now  the  native  pastor,  Lai  Pot  Siin,  is  there 
gathering  his  flock. 

In  British  Columbia,  on  Pacific  shores, 
William  Duncan,  out  of  a  body  of  brutal 
Indians,  some  of  them  cannibals,  built  his 
Metlakahtla,  a  Christian  state,  which,  not 
only  morally  and  religiously,  but  socially, 
politically,  and  commercially,  is  a  new  crown 
for  our  Lord  and  King.  After  six  months' 
study  of  their  language  he  made  his  first 
sermon.  Nine  tribes  crowded  that  one  vil- 
lage, and  he  could  not  get  them  to  come  to- 
gether, in  the  same  meeting;  so  he  preached 
that  first  sermon  nine  times  in  one  evening. 


PRODUCTS  OF  GOD'S  HUSBANDRY.  237 

As  long  ago  as  1880  he  stood  at  the 
head  of  a  community  of  one  thousand  souls, 
with  the  largest  church  north  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  manse,  school,  shops,  and  all  the 
marks  of  a  Christian  civilization.  He  is 
solving  the  problem  of  the  Indian  ques- 
tion, and  proving  that  the  decay  of  these 
aboriginal  tribes  may  not  only  be  arrested, 
but  give  place  to  the  ingrafted  scion  of 
gospel  life.  Lord  Dufferin  could  not  gather 
from  all  the  rich  resources  of  the  dead  and 
living  languages,  which  his  silver  tongue  so 
grandly  uses,  words  fit  to  express  his  aston- 
ishment at  what  he  saw  in  this  community. 
Surely  it  is  better  and  cheaper  to  evangelize 
the  Indians  than  to  exterminate  them.  Gen- 
eral Sherman's  campaign  against  the  Chey- 
ennes  is  reported  to  have  cost  $5,000,000; 
it  costs  $500,000  to  kill  an  Indian,  and  $500 
to  convert  one.  Those  who  estimate  every 
question  on  a  financial  basis  may  do  well  to 
consider  these  comparative  figures.  History 
may  yet  prove  that  there  are  some  "good 
Indians"  who  are  not  "dead  Indians." 


238  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

All  these  examples  might  be  multiplied 
absolutely  without  limit.  There  is  not  a  field 
of  missions,  the  world  over,  where  the  unmis- 
takable fruits  of  grace  have  not  been  made 
to  grow  and  thrive.  The  Spirit  of  God  moves 
over  the  abyss  of  paganism,  and  divine  life 
develops  in  a  new  creation. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  ISLES   WAITING   FOR   HIS   LAW. 

OLYNESIA  has  been  the  scene  of 
gospel  triumphs  which,  for  charac- 
ter, frequency,  and  rapidity,  scarce 
admit  of  comparison.  Here  is  a  sort  of 
submerged  continent  whose  numberless  pro- 
jections form  islands  in  the  Pacific,  and  where- 
ever  the  gospel  touches  these  islands  it  works 
wonderful  changes  in  their  civil  and  social 
life. 

The  story  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  or 
Hawaiian  group,  is  too  familiar  to  need  repe- 
tition. Within  fifty  years  an  entire  people, 
saved  from  extinction,  took  their  place  in 
the  great  brotherhood  of  Christian  nations 
side  by  side  with  others,  on  the  same  plane 
of  civilization,  and  in  the  same  work  of  evan- 
gelization.     This    shining    example    of    the 


240  THE   CRISIS   OF  MISSIONS. 

dynamics  of  the  gospel  prepared  us  to  look 
for  similar  conquests,  which  singularly  enough 
have  been  specially  multiplied  among  the 
islands  of  the  sea. 

The  annals  of  the  gospel  in  the  South 
Seas  should  be  written  in  starlight,  for  they 
include  some  of  the  most  shining  pages  in 
the  history  of  missions.  John  Williams,  the 
blacksmith's  boy,  the  apostle  of  Polynesia, 
found  idolatry  and  savagery  of  the  worst 
type  and  lowest  grade.  Yet  his  progress 
was  one  rapid  career  of  conquest.  Churches 
and  schools  grew,  he  knew  not  how.  A 
lawless  people  adopt  courts,  frame  a  code 
of  laws,  and  conduct  trials  by  jury.  Printing- 
presses  scatter  the  leaves  of  the  Tree  of 
Life ;  and  a  missionary  society  is  formed, 
with  Pomare  as  its  first  president,  and  $2,500 
are  its  first  year's  contribution.  Within  one 
year  after  he  landed  at  Raratonga,  the  popu- 
lation of  the  whole  Hervey  group,  numbering 
seven  thousand,  have  thrown  away  their  idols, 
and  a  church  building  six  hundred  feet  long 
is  erecting.     He  turns  to  the  Samoa  group, 


THE  ISLES  WAITING  FOR  HIS  LAW.  24 1 

and  shortly  has  the  whole  people,  numbering 
sixty  thousand,  gathered  in  Christian  schools. 
Pomare,  Queen  of  Tahiti  and  Moorea,  died 
at  seventy  years  of  age.  At  her  birth  the 
missionaries  had  just  come  to  the  South  Sea 
Islands.  Not  one  convert  had  been  made. 
At  her  death  more  than  three  hundred  islands 
were  evangelized. 

In  the  New  Hebrides,  John  Geddie's  mar- 
ble slab  bears  the  expressive,  laconic  epitaph, 
and  epitome  of  his  experience  at  Aneityum : 

"  When  he  came  here, 

He  found  no  Christians ; 
When  he  left, 

He  left  no  heathens." 

The  Fiji  group  may  perhaps  challenge 
any  other  record  of  gospel  transformation 
and  triumph,  in  any  age  or  land,  to  outshine 
the  golden  pages  of  its  history.  In  fifty 
years,  changes  have  taken  place  which  no 
pen  of  man  can  fitly  portray.  The  condition 
of  the  islands  when,  fifty  years  ago,  mission- 
aries   first   landed    in    Lakemba,  was  simply 

horrible.      Two    hundred    thousand    people 
16 


242  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

were  living  in  such  a  death-shade,  that  can- 
nibalism was  a  requirement  of  their  religion. 
Infanticide,  strangling  of  widows,  tribal 
wars,  atrocious  cruelties,  were  common  and 
awakened  no  repulsion.  If  a  chief  built  his 
hut,  he  surrounded  the  piles  on  which  it 
rested  by  rows  of  human  beings,  buried  alive. 
If  he  launched  a  canoe,  the  rollers  by  which 
it  was  borne  to  the  sea  were  living  bodies, 
crushed  and  ground  to  a  jelly  by  its 
weight. 

The  story  of  Fiji  would  fill  a  volume,  but 
language  has  no  adequate  terms  to  describe 
the  abasement  of  this  people,  nor  their  atro- 
cious and  abominable  customs.  Such  deeds 
of  darkness  should  be  written  in  blood  and 
registered  in  hell.  The  Fijians  are  now  a 
Christian  people.  In  seven  years  after  mis- 
sionary labor  began  among  them,  the  island 
of  Ono  had  not  one  heathen  left  upon  it,  and 
had  become  the  ''  light-bearer  "  to  the  whole 
group. 

But  at  least  the  outlines  of  this  marvel- 
lous romance  of  missions  should  be  drawn. 


THE  ISLES  WAITING  FOR  HIS  LA  W.  243 

Against  such  colossal  and  gigantic  diabolism 
as  seldom  confronts  even  a  missionary  in 
pagan  lands,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  with 
faith  in  his  presence  and  power,  two  British 
Wesleyan  missionaries,  —  Rev.  William  Cross 
and  David  Cargill,  —  Oct.  12,  1835,  undertook 
to  open  a  mission.  They  gave  the  Fijians  a 
grammar  and  dictionary  of  their  own  tongue, 
and  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  Matthew. 
Within  eight  months  the  new  gospel  held 
sufficient  sway  to  prevent  the  cruel  rites  of 
cannibalism  upon  the  shipwrecked  crew  of 
the  "  Active."  The  missionary  band  grew, 
and  the  sway  of  the  gospel  extended ;  canni- 
balism, murder,  war,  and  finally  polygamy, 
gave  way  before  it ;  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  native  converts  were  gathered  into  Chris- 
tian churches ;  idolatry  vyas  abolished,  houses 
of  Christian  worship  were  built,  and  schools 
organized.  The  whole  aspect  of  the  islands 
was  changed.  And  at  the  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary, in  October,  1885,  there  were  over  1,200 
chapels;  a  total  of  2,350  missionaries,  native 
ministers,  teachers,  and  preachers ;  over  26,000 


244  THE   CRISIS   OF  MISSIONS, 

communicants  and  4,600  probationers,  and 
over  42,000  Sunday-school  scholars.  Every 
village  has  its  Christian  churches,  schools, 
and  homes,  and  there  are  more  families  that 
observe  family  prayer  and  attend  public  wor- 
ship than  in  the  most  enlightened  centres  of 
Christendom. 

One  indication  may  be  given  of  the  prog- 
ress of  the  gospel  in  Fiji.  In  the  ancient 
Fijian  city  of  Bau  stands  a  stone  with  a  his- 
tory like  that  of  Moloch.  It  stood  in  front 
of  the  chief  temple,  Vata  mi  Tawaki,  which, 
on  a  high  foundation,  towered  above  the 
many  shrines  and  fanes  of  Bau.  The  corpses 
destined  for  cannibal  orgies,  trailed  in  their 
gore  along  the  dusty  soil,  were  dashed  by  the 
head  against  this  stone,  as  an  offering  to  the 
divinities,  before  being  devoured.  For  at 
least  thirty  years  —  since  cannibalism  fell  be- 
fore the  power  of  Christianity  —  this  stone 
has  had  upon  it  no  stain  of  human  blood, 
and  now  is  converted  into  a  baptismal  font. 

With  the  consent  and  co-operation  of  the 
chief,  this  weird  relic  of  the  past  has  been 


THE  ISLES  WAITING  FOR  HIS  LA  IV.  245 

borne  from  the  spot  which  it  had  occupied, 
and  set  up  in  the  great  Bau  church.  Here 
a  cavity  was  hollowed  out  in  it,  and  thus  it 
was  changed  into  a  font,  with  associations 
such  as  few  church  fonts  possess.  Curiosity- 
hunters  complain  of  the  removal  of  this 
heathen  monument,  as  the  further  carrying 
away  of  the  stone  in  pieces  is  prevented ; 
but  the  history  of  this  fragment,  and  the 
contrast  of  its  past  and  its  present  position 
and  uses,  throw  much  light  on  what  mission 
work  has  done  in  Fiji. 

The  Samoa  group,  or  Navigator's  Islands, 
is  in  Central  Polynesia,  about  ten  degrees 
below  the  equator,  three  thousand  miles  east 
of  Australia,  and  perhaps  one  fifth  as  far 
northeast  of  Fiji.  When  first  found,  the 
natives  were  the  lowest,  worst  savages. 
''  Massacre  Bay,"  by  its  name,  records  the 
cruel  slaughter  of  twelve  white  men  by 
them,  in  La  Perouse's  expedition  in  1787. 
Williams  and  Barff,  first  missionaries  to  the 
group,  and  representing  the  London  Society, 
landed  there  in    1830.     The  transformations 


246         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

effected   within    these    fifty-five    years    seem 
incredible. 

The  Scriptures  were  translated,  so  that 
within  thirty  years  the  people  were  all 
nominally  Christian,  and  had  in  their  hands 
an  octavo  reference  Bible  in  their  own  tongue ; 
and  for  all  Bibles  or  other  books  they  were 
taught  to  pay.  Within  seven  years  after  the 
Bible  issued  from  the  press,  an  edition  of  ten 
thousand  copies  was  exhausted,  and  the  entire 
outlay  of  over  $15,000  was  repaid  by  the 
sales.  Another  and  revised  edition  equally 
large  is  exhausted.  When  the  mission  be- 
gan, money  was  unknown  to  the  Samoans; 
now  four  nations  are  represented  in  mercan- 
tile business,  and  a  trade  with  the  natives, 
worth  from  a  quarter  to  a  half  million  dollars, 
is  annually  carried  on  in  the  shops. 

Of  a  population  of  thirty-five  thousand, 
there  are  now  six  thousand  converted  men 
and  women,  and  as  many  more  who  in  the 
same  faith  have  fallen  asleep.  Eight  thou- 
sand children  are  in  the  schools ;  and  Dr. 
Turner  says  there  are  not  probably  twenty 


THE  ISLES  WAITING  FOR  HIS  LA  W.   247 

houses  all  over  the  group  in  which  you  would 
not  find  the  Word  of  God  and  daily  family 
worship. 

Thousands  of  pages  of  Christian  and  edu- 
cational literature  are  in  circulation.  At 
Malua,  on  the  island  of  Upolu,  is  a  mission 
seminary  now  over  forty  years  old,  supported 
by  the  students  themselves,  who  give  up  an 
hour  or  two  daily,  and  the  whole  of  each 
Wednesday  and  the  first  Monday  of  each 
month,  to  industrial  pursuits.  The  seminary 
has  a  sea  frontage,  so  that  the  students  may 
fish ;  and  their  plantations  abound  with  fruit 
and  vegetables,  pigs  and  poultry.  The  only 
expense  to  the  London  Society  has  been  the 
salaries  of  the  two  teachers,  and  the  institu- 
tion now  owns  an  estate  worth  $50,000,  and 
has  over  eighty  pupils.  So  popular  is  this 
seminary,  that  there  are  two  or  three  appli- 
cants for  every  vacancy;  and  young  men 
have  come  from  nineteen  other  islands. 
Within  twenty  years  the  native  churches, 
beside  the  support  of  their  own  native  pas- 
tors, have  contributed  on  an  average  $6,000 


248  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

per  year  to  the  London  Society.  Where 
can  Christendom  exhibit  a  half-century  of 
work  more  prolific  in  fruits? 

The  late  Charles  Darwin,  the  naturalist,  in 
early  life  visited  the  island  of  Terra  del 
Fuego,  and  described  the  inhabitants  as  the 
most  degraded  and  brutal  people  living  on 
the  earth ;  in  many  respects  worse  than  the 
brutes.  A  Scottish  captain,  Allen  Gardner, 
went  there  three  times  to  carry  them  the 
bread  of  life,  but  finally  perished  of  starva- 
tion, with  all  his  followers.  When  his  dead 
body  was  discovered  they  found  inscribed 
on  the  rocks  above  his  head  the  words  of 
the  Psalmist:  ''My  soul,  wait  thou  only  on 
the  Lord,  for  my  expectation  is  from  Him ;  " 
and  his  *'  expectations "  have  been  fulfilled, 
and  a  marvellous  work  of  grace  accomplished. 
So  much  so,  that  when  Mr.  Darwin  visited 
the  island  again  —  a  short  time  before  his 
death  —  he  became  satisfied  of  the  power  of 
the  gospel  to  redeem  even  the  most  savage 
tribes,  although  he  had  been  an  unbeliever 
in  Christianity. 


THE  ISLES  WAITING  FOR  HIS  LAW.  249 

Thomas  Powell  placed  on  the  little  island 
of  Nanumaga  a  native  evangelist.  He  found 
the  island  full  of  idols  of  stone  and  wood, 
altars  in  every  house,  and  temples  almost  as 
many  as  dwellings.  He  was  kept  two  hours 
on  the  beach  while  the  priests,  with  absurd 
rites,  sought  to  avert  the  wrath  of  their  gods 
for  allowing  the  stranger  to  land.  The  men 
and  women  were  almost  as  nude  as  the  chil- 
dren, and  made  a  virtue  of  nakedness.  Eight 
years  afterward,  one  third  of  the  entire  popu- 
lation were  members  of  the  Christian  church, 
and  two-thirds  of  the  children  were  in  Chris- 
tian schools ;  and  those  new  church  members 
have  contributed  to  the  support  of  the  gospel 
and  its  extension  an  average  of  $1.60  each. 
Not  an  idol  is  now  to  be  found,  nor  an  idol 
temple,  and  the  people  are  all  clothed  decent- 
ly, and  sit  with  delight  to  listen  to  the  gospel. 

In  all  these  cases  the  lowest  type  of  pagan- 
ism was  confronted.  The  people  seemed 
sunk  so  low  as  to  have  scarce  mind  or  man- 
hood to  grasp  the  simplest  Christian  truths. 
But  the  Spirit  of  God  has  demonstrated  that 


250  THE   CRISIS   OF  MISSIONS. 

it  Is  both  a  fallacy  and  a  heresy  to  affirm  that 
any  human  being  is  too  degraded  to  be  made 
a  new  man  in  Christ  Jesus,  a  new  creation 
in  which  old  things  pass  away  and  all  things 
become  new. 

Look  at  Madagascar !  The  French  gov- 
ernor of  the  island  of  Bourbon  told  the  first 
Protestant  missionaries  to  that  country  that 
they  might  as  well  try  to  convert  cattle,  as 
to  make  Christians  of  the  Malagasy.  Mada- 
gascar stands  now  the  miracle  of  modern 
missions,  "  the  crown  of  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society,"  promising  to  be  to  the  Dark 
Continent  what  England  is  to  Europe,  —  an 
evangelizing  centre.  The  gospel  barely  got 
a  foothold  when  a  Neronian  persecution  met 
it  with  the  black  flag  that  meant  "  no  quar- 
ter ;  "  but  twenty-five  years  failed  to  dislodge 
it  by  fire  or  blood.  And  a  few  years  ago 
the  Queen  issued  a  proclamation  in  the  name 
of  God  declaring  Christianity  the  law  of  her 
realm,  built  a  chapel  for  Christian  worship 
within  court  grounds,  and  celebrated  with 
her    people    a    fortnight    of   jubilee.      The 


THE  ISLES  WAITING  FOR  HIS  LAW,   251 

Malagasy  ''  cattle  "  have  "  developed  "  in  an 
incredibly  short  period  into  intelligent  Chris- 
tian disciples.  No  period  of  Christian  history 
can  probably  show  more  fruits  or  better  fruits 
of  thirty-five  years  of  missionary  labor,  than 
in  Madagascar. 

And  so  Christlieb  says :  "  The  most  de- 
graded of  heathen  nations  may  be  brought  to 
listen,  and  learn  to  believe.  We  have  thus  the 
comforting  assurance  that  no  race  is  so  spirit- 
ually dead  that  by  the  good  news  it  cannot 
rise  to  newness  of  life,  no  tongue  so  barbarian 
that  it  will  not  admit  of  a  translation  of  the 
Bible,  no  heathen  soul  so  sunk  that  he  cannot 
becom-e  a  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus." 

Truly  the  gospel  needs  no  apologetics  amid 
such  displays  of  its  dynamics.  While  it  is 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every 
one  that  believeth,  Jew  or  Greek,  barbarian, 
Scythian,  bond  or  free,  who  shall  be  *'  ashamed 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ?"  The  civilization 
and  evangelization  of  these  islands,  within 
half  a  century,  furnish  a  mightier  defence  of 
our  faith  than  all  the  apologies  of  the  ages. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

god's  seal  on  the  workmen. 

NOTHERofthe  '' gracious  signs  "  of 
the  presence  and  power  of  God  in 
connection  with  the  work  of  mis- 
sions, a  special  seal  and  sanction  set  upon  the 
work,  may  be  found  in  the  peculiar  conse- 
cration of  character  developed  in  the  work- 
men who  have  heartily  entered  into  this  great 
harvest-field. 

Science,  that  interpreter  of  nature,  shows 
us  the  crystal  and  the  cell,  her  miracles  of 
inorganic  symmetry  and  of  organic  life.  But 
God's  Spirit,  that  interpreter  of  grace,  re- 
veals to  us  greater  marvels  in  holy  lives  that 
to  the  beauty  of  the  crystal  add  the  energy 
of  the  cell,  and  shine  not  with  a  cold,  im- 
prisoned lustre,  but  with  the  light  and  life 
and  love  of  God.     *'  History  is    philosophy 


GOD'S  SEAL   ON  THE    WORKMEN.    253 

teaching  by  examples,"  said  Dionysius  of 
Halicarnassus.  To  appreciate  the  divine 
spirit  of  missions,  we  need  to  study  the  mis- 
sionary biography,  which  teaches  by  ex- 
amples its  power  to  illumine  and  transfigure 
human  character.  What  an  alphabet  is  that 
which  presents  such  names  as  Abeel,  Ash- 
more,  Barnes,  Boardman,  Brainerd,  Burns, 
Bushnell,  Carey,  Crowther,  Dober,  Duff,  Ed- 
wards, Egede,  Eliot,  Ellis,  Farman,  Fiske, 
Geddie,  Goodell,  Goodale,  Grant,  Greig, 
Gutzlaff,  Gulick,  Harms,  Hannington,  Hender- 
son, Hepburn,  Jessup,  Judson,  Kiernander, 
Krapf,  Lindley,  Livingstone,  McAU,  Marsh- 
man,  Martyn,  Mayhew,  Milne,  Moffat,  Mor- 
rison, Newell,  Newton,  Owen,  Oncken, 
Perkins,  Plutschau,  Rhea,  Riggs,  Ross,  Scud- 
der,  Stoddard,  Schmidt,  Schwartz,  Spangen- 
berg,  Eli  Smith,  Taylor,  Turner,  Van  Dyke, 
Ward,  Williams,  Wolff,  Xavier,  Ziegenbalg, 
Zeisberger,  Zinzendorf,  and  a  legion  beside, 
whose  lives  constitute  new  chapters  in  the 
acts  of  the  apostles,  and  both  demonstrate 
and  illustrate  that  true  apostolic   succession 


254         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

of  a  Christ-like  spirit  and  a  Pauline  enthu- 
siasm and  self-oblivion ! 

Sir  R.  Temple,  late  Governor  of  Bombay, 
says :  — 

^*  Of  all  departments  I  have  ever  administered, 
none  have  been  more  efficiently  or  economically 
conducted  than  that  of  missions ;  and  of  all  the 
officers  I  have  commanded,  no  better  body  of 
men  have  I  known  than  the  missionaries." 

In  a  letter  written  by  Robert  N.  Cust,  Esq., 
and  addressed  to  the  American  Board  meet- 
ing at  Boston  in  1885,  and  published  in  the 
*'  Missionary  Herald,"  appears  the  following 
passage.  The  whole  Church  may  well  be 
proud  of  such  a  testimony. 

"  The  missionary  appears  to  me  to  be  the 
highest  type  of  human  excellence  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  his  profession  to  be  the  noblest.  He 
has  the  enterprise  of  the  merchant,  without  the 
narrow  desire  of  gain ;  the  dauntlessness  of  the 
soldier,  without  the  shedding  of  blood  ;  the  zeal 
of  the  geographical  explorer,  but  for  a  higher 
motive  than  science.  Now,  if  there  is  anything 
greater  than  an  English  missionary,  it  is  an  Amer- 


GOD'S  SEAL    ON  THE    WORKMEN.     255 

ican.  My  words  may  be  read  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  I  write  them  deliberately ;  if  my 
convictions  were  the  other  way,  I  should  not  hesi- 
tate to  express  them.  I  knew  John  Newton,  of 
Lahore,  forty  years  ago,  and  I  know  him  still.  I 
knew  Farman,  and  Barnes,  and  Joseph  Owen, 
and  many  of  the  Episcopalian-Methodist  Mission, 
more  than  twenty-five  years  ago  in  India,  and  Van 
Dyke,  and  Eli  Smith,  and  Robinson,  —  the  Pales- 
tine explorer,  —  at  the  same  period.  Later  on,  I 
have  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  great  army  of 
American  missionaries  at  Constantinople,  Beirut, 
and  in  Eg}^pt.  I  infringed  on  Labaree  at  Tiflis, 
in  South  Russia.  Many  American  missionaries, 
starting  to  Africa,  have  come  to  see  me  in  Lon- 
don, and  I  have  taken  note  of  their  character  and 
calibre.  I  have  lived  among  missionaries  of  my 
own  country  all  that  period,  and  know^  members 
of  all  denominations.  They  are  the  salt  of  the 
earth  P 

These  words  of  Mr.  Cost  are  abundantly- 
authorized  by  the  entire  history  of  mis- 
sions. Paul's  self-denial  and  self-forgetful- 
ness,  patience  in  suffering  and  passion  for 
souls,  ardor  and  fervor,  earnestness  and  en- 
thusiasm, holiness  and  heroism,  are  only  the 


256  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

anticipation  and  illustration  of  the  divine 
virtues  exemplified  in  the  noble  army  of 
missionary  martyrs  from  his  day  until  now. 
Every  field  of  labor  and  every  age  of  history 
repeat  the  testimony  that  there  is  something 
in  missionary  work  that  both  demands  and 
develops  the  highest  type  of  manhood  and 
womanhood. 

Here  is  the  reason  why  the  Word  of  God 
and  the  man  of  God  must  go  together :  the 
personal  witness  found  in  the  man  is  as  need- 
ful in  its  way  as  the  inspired  witness  found 
in  the  message.  It  was  Morrison  himself  that 
was  the  Chinese  bible  ;  it  was  Mrs.  Grant  that 
compelled  even  the  Nestorian  bishops  to  con- 
fess the  empty  shell  of  their  formalism,  and 
bury  her  sacred  dust,  as  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  in  the  very  floor  of  their  holy 
place;  it  was  Mrs.  Judson  that  won  the 
Burmese  —  who  kissed  her  shadow  as  she 
passed  —  to  believe  in  the  religion  that  could 
shape  such  symmetrical  womanhood.  Eliot's 
utter  self-abnegation  and  David  Brainerd's 
martyr   spirit   made  them  almost  objects  of 


GOD'S  SEAL   ON   THE   WORKMEN.    257 

worship  with  the  Indians,  as  Dr.  Hogg  was 
mourned  as  a  father  by  the  natives  all  along 
the  Nile,  and  Livingstone,  by  the  sable  sons 
of  the  South.  Christianity  has  somehow 
produced  her  ripest  fruits,  and  the  ripest 
fruits  of  manhood  and  womanhood,  in  mis- 
sion fields ;  and  there  must  be  something  in 
this  work  that  makes  heroes  and  martyrs. 

Even  the  flaming  zeal  of  Xavier  is  matched 
by  the  heroism  of  Rosine  Krapf,  going  with 
her  husband  into  the  heart  of  Abyssinia, 
sharing  all  the  exposures  and  privations  of 
his  flight,  though  even  then  overshadowed 
by  the  approach  of  that  sacred  primal  sorrow 
of  her  sex.  Under  the  shade  of  a  tree  in  the 
wilderness  of  Shoho  he  took  the  dying  babe 
in  his  arms  to  dedicate  it  to  the  Triune  God. 
Hear  her,  in  her  own  sufl*ering,  seeking  to 
comfort  him,  naming  that  child  of  sorrow  by 
the  Amharic  name  for  a  '*  tear ;  "  then  valiantly 
accompanying  her  husband  through  perils  of 
land  and  water,  sharing  with  him  shipwreck; 
and  when  dying,  with  her  last  breath  enjoin- 
ing him  to  bear  her  body  to  the  African 
17 


258  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

shores,  that  her  grave  might  remind  the 
pagan  Wanikas  what  had  brought  her  to  that 
land,  and  might  inspire  other  missionaries  to 
bear  the  fiery  cross  through  the  Galla  coun- 
try into  Abyssinia.  If  the  annals  of  history 
furnish  any  examples  of  more  heroic  self- 
oblivion,  what  are  they? 

In  South  Africa  there  v/as  established  a 
hospital  for  lepers,  and  in  connection  with  it 
a  large  piece  of  ground  enclosed  by  a  wall, 
and  containing  fields  which  the  lepers  culti- 
vated. There  was  only  one  entrance,  and 
those  who  entered  in  by  that  gate  were  not 
allowed  to  go  out.  Inside  were  multitudes 
of  lepers  in  all  stages  of  their  loathsome  dis- 
ease. Two  Moravian  missionaries,  filled  with 
heavenly  love  and  anxious  to  carry  the 
tidings  of  joy  to  those  in  such  misery,  chose 
the  lazar-house  as  their  field  of  labor.  They 
entered  it,  never  to  come  out  again;  and 
when  they  died  there  were  other  mission- 
aries ready  to  take  their  places.  Surely 
these  men  followed  Him  who  died  for  us 
while  we  were  yet  sinners. 


GOD'S  SEAL   ON  THE    WORKMEN.    259 

Livingstone,  in  Africa,  was  thirty-nine  times 
attacked  with  fever,  driven  northward  by  per- 
secution, yet  never  giving  up,  and  dying  on 
his  knees,  of  sheer  exhaustion.  Dober  and 
his  co-laborers  at  St.  Thomas  were  told  that 
they  could  not  preach  to  those  ignorant 
slaves.  *'  Then  we  will  sell  ourselves  as 
slaves,  and  preach  while  we  work  by  their 
side." 

The  Japanese,  impressed  with  the  superi- 
ority of  a  Christian  civilization,  and  espe- 
cially of  our  common  schools,  sent  for  one  of 
our  missionaries  and  asked  him  to  take  the 
superintendence  of  education  throughout  the 
empire  of  Japan ;  and  he  said,  "  Gentlemen,  I 
have  not  time  to  take  the  superintendence  of 
your  schools;  I  have  given  myself  to  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  and  the  translation 
of  the  Word  of  God,  and  I  cannot  under- 
take secular  instruction ;  "  and  he  declined  a 
princely  salary  that  he  might  carry  on  his 
work. 

The  reason  for  the  development  of  such  a 
type  of  character  in  missionaries  is  not  an 


260  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

obscure  one.  If  the  missionary  workman  is 
inspired  to  heroism  by  providential  signals, 
still  grander,  if  possible,  is  the  inspiration  of 
gracious  signs.  He  ventures  into  the  wildest 
and  worst  wastes  of  the  pagan  world.  In 
that  soil  grows  every  product,  —  earthly,  sen- 
sual, devilish.  Not  only  is  the  image  of  God 
defaced  and  almost  effaced,  but  the  image  of 
man  is  so  shattered  and  wrecked  that  the 
**  humanity"  upon  which  he  labors  is  literally 
like  the  beasts  that  perish.  Woman  is  a 
tool,  a  slave,  a  victim;  home  is  an  earthly 
hell.  Even  language  is  so  degraded  that  it 
has  no  words  or  phrases  fit  to  express  or 
convey  spiritual  ideas  and  conceptions.  Out 
of  that  soil  nothing  has  grown  for  a  thousand 
years  but  the  rankest,  deadliest  vices,  lusts, 
crimes,  that  provoke  even  the  patience  of 
God  to  burn  up  the  whole  harvest  of  evil 
with  the  fires  of  His  holy  wrath. 

In  the  midst  of  such  society  the  humble 
preacher  or  teacher  sows  the  seed  of  the 
kingdom ;  and,  sooner  or  later,  the  plants  of 
grace  begin  to  grow  and  thrive ;  they  spread, 


GOD'S  SEAL   ON  THE   WORKMEN.    26 1 

they  crowd  out  the  gigantic  growths  of  sin 
and  superstition,  until,  where  the  Devil's  har- 
vest-field was,  appears  the  garden  of  the 
Lord,  with  every  characteristic  fruit  of  god- 
liness abounding,  blooming  and  fragrant. 
The  heathen  soil  supports  a  Christian  com- 
munity. 

What  would  induce  such  men  as  Schwartz 
and  Carey,  Morrison  and  Judson,  Oncken 
and  Lindley,  Jessup  and  Taylor,  McAll  and 
Hannington,  to  leave  their  work?  To  have 
such  signals  of  Providence  to  guide  and 
guard,  and  such  signs  of  grace  to  inspire  and 
encourage,  is  ample  compensation  for  all  the 
toil,  trial,  peril,  and  privation  of  a  missionary 
life  in  the  deserts  of  paganism,  the  land  of 
the  shadow  of  death ! 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  ASPECT  AND   PROSPECT. 

RAPID  glance  around  the  whole  field 
shows  us  the  world  open  in  all  di- 
rections to  Christian  missions,  and 
if  every  energy  were  put  forth,  we  can  do  no 
more  than  occupy  the  fields  ready  for  the 
sower  with  his  seed,  and  in  many  cases  for 
the  reaper  with  his  sickle. 

I.  Paganism  is  manifestly  in  a  state  of  de- 
cadence. Pagan  peoples  have  lost,  or  are  los- 
ing, faith  in  their  idols  and  superstitions.  The 
gospel  has  proven  itself  able  to  reach  and  to 
save  both  the  lowest  and  the  highest  of  the 
heathen.  Its  divine  lever  is  lifting  whole  na- 
tions to  a  higher  level  of  intellectual,  moral, 
and  social  life;  overturning  antiquated  cus- 
toms and  deep-rooted  errors;  purifying  the 
marriage  relation  and  establishing  the  family ; 


THE  ASPECT  AND  PROSPECT.     263 

emphasizing  the  dignity  of  man  and  the  social 
equality  of  woman  ;  abolishing  caste  and  slav- 
ery; and  demolishing  idols  and  turning  idol 
fanes  into  houses  of  Christian  worship. 

Even  merchants  and  political  economists 
confess  that,  if  Christian  missions  do  no  more, 
they  civilize  and  educate.  In  England,  Rev. 
C.  Jukes,  of  Madagascar,  stated  that  though, 
sixty  years  since,  no  one  in  that  island  could 
read,  now  three  hundred  thousand  can  read ; 
and  most  of  them  possess  at  least  a  part  of 
the  Bible.  For  every  missionary  to  the  South 
Seas,  from  fifty  thousand  to  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  annually  return  in  the  channels 
of  trade;  and  even  Charles  Darwin  contrib- 
uted to  the  London  Missionary  Society  on  the 
score  of  philanthropy  and  political  economy. 

2.  Mohammedanism  has  thus  far  proven 
the  most  stubborn  foe  of  the  gospel,  and,  as 
yet,  its  territory  remains  almost  intact.  Yet 
there  are  hopeful  features  even  here,  for,  be- 
ing both  monotheistic  and  iconoclastic,  it  is 
the  foe  of  polytheism  and  idolatry,  and,  there- 
fore, so  far  the  ally  of  Christianity.    The  very 


264  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

restrictions  surrounding  the  Koran  help  to 
make  one  Arabic  version  of  the  Bible  reach 
people  of  many  diverse  nations  and  tongues. 

Just  now,  especially  In  Syria  and  Turkey, 
there  are  signs  all  around  the  horizon  that 
even  the  rigid  resistance  of  Moslem  bigotry 
is  relaxing;  and  direct  efforts  to  evange- 
lize the  followers  of  Islam  will  at  once  be 
made.  The  United  Presbyterians,  so  suc- 
cessful among  the  Copts  In  Egypt,  have  also 
done  much  good  work,  and  are  likely  to  do 
more,  among  Mohammedans.  Already,  in 
their  schools,  one  in  seven  Is  from  this  class. 

3.  Papacy  shows  an  entire  change  of  atti- 
tude toward  the  gospel.  The  "  twelve  hundred 
and  sixty "  years  seem  expired ;  the  wall  of 
adamant  beyond  which,  for  so  long  a  time, 
evangelical  teachers  and  preachers  could  not 
pass  without  daring  the  rack  and  the  stake, 
the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition  and  the  an- 
athemas of  the  Pope,  — that  wall  has  breaches 
so  many  and  broad  that  gates  of  steel  no 
longer  avail.  Sixteen  years  ago  the  tem- 
poral   power  of  the  Pope  was   broken,  and 


THE  ASPECT  AND  PROSPECT.     265 

now  the  spiritual  sceptre  is  loosely  held. 
France  welcomes  McAU's  gospel  stations, 
and  Italy  and  Spain  admit  Bibles  and  Prot- 
estant preachers ;  while  in  the  Eternal  City  it- 
self, Protestant  chapels  lift  their  spires,  like 
fingers,  in  solemn  menace,  in  sight  of  St. 
Peter's  great  cathedral. 

4.  The  Jews  are  now  attracting  the  eyes  of 
the  nations.  Some  years  since  there  was  a 
powerful  awakening  among  them  in  North 
Africa ;  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  them 
are  among  the  converts  in  England,  America, 
and  Europe.  Good  work  has  been  done  for 
them  in  Persia;  and  under  Rabinowitz,  in  Rus- 
sia, there  has  been  for  two  years  a  gathering 
of  God's  ancient  people  into  New  Testament 
brotherhoods  of  a  unique  type,  and  in  large 
numbers.  We  account  this  last  as  one  of  the 
most  startling  signs  of  the  times.  The  fulness 
of  the  Gentiles  may  soon  be  come  in,  and  God's 
ancient  Israel  may  once  more  be  graffed  into 
their  own  olive-tree. 

Such  is  the  general  outlook.  It  will  be 
observed  that  throughout  these  pages  we  have 


266         THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

laid  but  little  stress  upon  mere  numbers.  Fig- 
ures belong  to  the  changeable  and  changing 
factors  in  missions,  and  we  prefer  to  deal  in 
the  great  permanent  facts  and  principles 
which  underlie  what  is  transient.  Moreover, 
no  adequate  idea  of  the  work  done  is  con- 
veyed by  the  numerical  increase  of  converts, 
or  even  of  stations. 

Some  who  antagonize  missions,  and  aim  to 
behttle  their  success,  claim  that  such  figures 
mislead  by  exaggerating  the  facts ;  that  these 
converts  are  often  ignorant,  superstitious,  half- 
converted  or  not  at  all,  actuated  by  mercena- 
ry or  selfish  motives,  or  are  at  best  unstable. 
Granting  all  this,  yet  in  the  most  favored  Chris- 
tian land  and  churches  just  such  conditions 
prevail ;  and  careful  comparison  shows  that  the 
proportion  of  converts  who  prove  unworthy 
and  unstable  is  smaller  in  heathen  than  in 
Christian  lands.  The  difficulties  and  dangers, 
which  these  native  converts  have  to  face,  test 
their  sincerity  and  render  them  courageous 
and  constant  in  their  adhesion  to  Christ. 

But  more  than  this  we  may  safely  say.     We 


THE  ASPECT  AND  PROSPECT.     267 

do  not  place  much  value  upon  the  number  of 
converts  reported,  because  it  actually  tinder- 
states  the  progress  of  the  gospel.  A  few  only 
have  the  courage  to  confess  faith  in  Christ; 
while  hundreds  have  lost  faith  in  idol  gods 
and  poetic  myths,  or  cherish  a  secret  hope, 
which  only  a  death-bed  may  reveal.  Statis- 
tics may  give  us  the  number  of  Christian 
churches  and  converts,  schools  and  pupils; 
but  there  are  facts  which  have  no  report  or 
record,  but  which  are  quite  as  important.  Dr. 
Ashmore  says  that  while  converts  count  only 
as  individuals,  the  great  masses  of  the  heathen 
are  sceptical  about  their  systems.  The  con- 
fidence of  vast  numbers,  in  the  creeds  and 
customs  and  fables  in  which  they  have  been 
trained,  is  undermined,  and  they  are  like  the 
Midianites,  who  found  in  their  own  dreams 
an  ominous  prophecy  of  their  defeat  be- 
fore Gideon.  \^  God  is  honeycombing  Satan's 
"  Hell-gate,"  and  a  violent,  sudden,  explosive 
upheaval  is  coming;  and  the  heathen  them- 
selves have  apprehensions  of  the  approach- 
ins:  crisis.  ) 


268  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

Still  further,  every  church  gathered  out  of 
a  Pagan  or  Moslem  community  represents  a 
widely  pervasive  Christian  atmosphere.  Each 
mission  station  is  a  centre  of  light,  radiating 
in  every  direction  redeeming  influences ;  each 
native  church  is  the  centre  of  a  Christian  com- 
munity closely  identified  with  Christianity.  If 
there  be  two  million  converts,  there  are  per- 
haps two  hundred  million  to  whom  the 
knowledge  of  the  gospel  and  its  transform- 
ing power  have  more  or  less  reached. 

Here  again  are  facts  which  no  figures  show, 
no  reports  reveal.  Light  diminishes  darkness 
which  it  does  not  dispel.  Sir  Bartle  Frere  says 
that  the  general  extension  of  even  a  superfi- 
cial acquaintance  with  Christianity  *'  sounds 
the  death-knell  of  caste."  An  acute  observer 
of  Africa's  history  finds  the  slave-trade  giving 
way  everywhere  in  proportion  to  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel.  Pagan  institutions  cannot 
stand  firm  when  Christian  women  penetrate  to 
the  zenanas,  and  Christian  schools  bend  the 
twig  that  is  to  determine  the  inclination  of  the 
tree.    In  India,  schools  that  numbered  thirteen 


THE  ASPECT  AND  PROSPECT.     269 

in  1 861,  counted  thirteen  hundred  in  1883. 
Buddhist  temples  in  Siam  are  furnishing  ma- 
terials for  houses  of  prayer  to  the  true  God ; 
and  in  sheer  despair  there  is  an  attempt  to 
fuse  all  pagan  faiths,  to  prevent  the  extinction 
of  all. 

In  Syria,  where  every  obstacle  seemed  to 
exclude  the  gospel,  education  was  the  potent 
key  that  unlocked  the  iron  gates.  Hundreds 
of  Protestant  schools,  with  thousands  of  pu- 
pils,—  half  of  them  girls,  and  one  tenth  of 
those  girls  Mohammedans,  —  cannot  fail  to 
change  the  entire  conditions  of  society. 
A  Mohammedan  pasha  himself  told  Mrs. 
Thompson  that  schools  like  hers  made  im- 
possible another  massacre  like  that  of  Mount 
Lebanon  in  i860;  for  all  sects  are  there  gath- 
ered, and  the  children  of  the  murdered  sit 
side  by  side  with  those  of  the  murderers,  and 
grow  up  together. 

We  have  heard  of  an  English  colonel  who, 
though  a  resident  in  India,  "  saw  and  shot 
thirty  tigers,  but  never  saw  a  convert ;  "  we 
have  also  heard  of  a  devoted  missionary  in 


270  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

India  who  never  saw  one  tiger,  but  spent  his 
life  among  converts ;  and  we  conclude  that 
each  saw  what  he  chose  to  see.  Tigers  are 
not  generally  found  on  the  mission  premises, 
nor  converts  in  the  jungles;  but  either  tigers 
or  converts  may  be  found  if  you  go  zuhere  they 
are. 

A  blue-book  is  the  last  place  in  the  world 
where  one  might  expect  to  find  appreciative 
testimony  in  favor  of  mission  work ;  and  yet 
such  appreciative  testimony  actually  occurs 
in  the  Blue-Book  of  the  Government  of  India, 
just  published.  In  speaking  of  the  missiona- 
ries it  says :  — 

"  No  statistics  can  give  a  fair  view  of  all  that  they 
have  done.  The  moral  tone  of  their  preaching  is 
recognized  by  hundreds  who  do  not  follow  them  as 
converts.  The  lessons  which  they  inculcate  have 
given  to  the  people  new  ideas,  not  only  on  purely 
religious  questions,  but  on  the  nature  of  evil,  the  ob- 
ligations of  law,  and  the  motives  by  which  human 
conduct  should  be  regulated.  Insensibly,  a  higher 
standard  of  moral  conduct  is  becoming  familiar  to 
the  people."  ^ 

1  New  York  Tribune,  July  25,  1886. 


THE  ASPECT  AND  PROSPECT.     2/ 1 

The  aspect  is  encouraging;  the  prospect 
is  as  bright  as  prophecy  and  promise  can 
make  it.  Triumphs  arc  before  the  Great 
Conqueror,  whose  glory  will  outshine  all 
previous  victories.  That  annus  mirabilis  of 
modern  missionary  history  is  itself  both  a 
prophecy  and  a  foretaste  of  coming  times  of 
refreshing.  During  that  one  year,  and  in  the 
land  which  is  the  key  to  Asiatic  missions, 
sixty  thousand  passed  over  the  line  that 
parts  idolatrous  and  Christian  communi- 
ties; and  twenty  persons  in  Christian  lands 
gave  to  foreign  missions  about  four  millions 
of  dollars,  —  two  developments  that  have  had 
no  parallel  in  history. 

No  human  wisdom  can  forecast  the  possi- 
ble revelations  of  even  the  immediate  future. 
So  rapid  and  so  radical  are  the  changes  tak- 
ing place,  that  before  these  pages  can  get  into 
print,  what  is  written  will  have  ceased  to  be 
accurate.  Even  as  we  write,  new  issues  of  the 
missionary  magazines  have  come  into  our 
hands,  compelling  revision  of  what  is  not  yet 
stereotyped  into  permanence  !     These  grand 


2J2  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

bulletin  boards  of  missions  are  full  of  news. 
New  Zealand  has  an  army  of  twelve  thou- 
sand teetotalers;  the  island  of  Hainan  in 
China  clamors  for  Christian  schools,  and  is 
wide  open  to  the  gospel.  Dr.  McKay,  at 
Formosa,  who  when  he  went  there  found 
idolatry  rampant,  the  people  bitter  toward 
foreigners,  and  without  preachers,  churches, 
or  hospitals  —  recently,  at  his  fourteenth  anni- 
versary, welcomed  thirteen  hundred  converts 
who  gathered  at  Tamsiu  to  express  their 
grateful  love ;  and  since  then,  in  ten  days  he 
has  baptized  over  twelve  hundred  more  !  The 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts  reports  over  two  thousand 
baptisms  in  the  Madras  district  during 
1885.  And  these  are  but  a  few  of  the  stir- 
ring reports  that  from  all  quarters  announce 
new  doors  opening,  new  fields  inviting,  new 
demands  urging,  new  successes  cheering. 
Verily  it  is  the  crisis  of  missions,  and  there 
is  a  voice  out  of  the  cloud,  "  Go  FORWARD  1 " 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  ELEMENTS   IN  THE   CRISIS. 

HE    main    purpose   of  the   preceding 
pages    is   to  impress  the    great    fact 
that  we  have  reached  the  most  criti- 
cal point  in  missionary  history. 

What  is  a  crisis?  It  is  a  combination  of 
grand  opportunity  and  great  responsibility; 
the  hour  when  the  chance  of  glorious  success 
and  the  risk  of  awful  failure  confront  each 
other;  the  turning-point  of  history  and  des- 
tiny. We  do  not  say  the  crisis  of  missions  is 
comiiig,  —  it  Jias  come,  and  is  even  now  upon 
us.  There  have  been  repeated  crises  be- 
fore, but  THE  CRISIS  is  now  to  be  met.  Never, 
since  Christ  committed  a  world's  evangeli- 
zation to  His  servants,  have  such  open  doors 
of  opportunity,  such  providential  removal  of 

barriers    and    subsidence    of  obstacles,    such 
i8 


274  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

general  preparation  for  the  universal  and 
immediate  dissemination  of  the  gospel,  and 
such  triumphs  of  grace  in  the  work  of  mis- 
sions, supplied  such  inspiration  to  angelic 
zeal  and  seraphic  devotion ;  but  it  may  well 
be  doubted  whether  there  has  ever  been 
greater  risk  of  losing  the  opportunity.  We 
are  in  peril  of  practical  apathy,  if  not  apos- 
tasy, with  respect  to  this  stewardship  of  the 
gospel,  this  obligation  to  a  lost  world. 

We  have  looked  upon  the  fruitful,  hopeful 
mission  field,  with  its  providential  leadings  and 
gracious  workings ;  but  to  the  brightest  pic- 
ture there  is  often  a  darker  background ;  and 
it  is  necessary  to  a  complete  impression,  that 
we  should  candidly  face  all  the  facts,  however 
they  may  rebuke  our  listlessness  and  selfish- 
ness. And  a  few  of  these  discouragements 
we  must  carefully  and  prayerfully  consider,  if 
we  would  understand  and  solve  the  probleni 
of  missions. 

First  of  all,  the  Church  is  moving  so  slowly 
that  Satan's  active  agents  are  entering  these 
open  doors,  preoccupying  these  open  fields. 


THE  ELEMENTS  IN  THE   CRISIS.   275 

The  crisis  will  not  brook  delay.  Satan  ap- 
preciates his  opportunity,  if  we  do  not  ours. 
If  we  do  not  push  our  forces  to  the  front,  we 
shall  find  it  too  late.  We  can  take  posses- 
sion, then,  if  at  all,  only  by  dislodging  a 
foe  whom  our  delays  have  permitted  to  pre- 
cede us. 

India  is  an  example  of  the  danger  of  delay. 
The  theosophists  go  there  and  feed  the  ex- 
piring flame  of  paganism  with  the  fuel  of  ra- 
tionalism and  mysticism.  In  Calcutta,  Paine's 
**  Age  of  Reason  "  is  made  ''  plain  upon  the 
tablets,"  instead  of  the  gospel ;  and  in  univer- 
sity cities  like  Bombay,  natives  eagerly  read 
and  glibly  quote  Hegel,  Strauss,  Renan,  and 
IngersoU,  like  the  blatant  sceptics  of  young 
America.  European  books  and  teachers 
import  materialism  and  atheism,  sugar-coated 
with  subtle  science  and  seductive  philosophy. 
The  "  Liberal  Christians "  send  out  a  soli- 
tary missionary  to  convert  the  East  Indians 
to  Unitarianism,  and  he  himself  becomes 
a  convert  to  the  famous  Brahmo  Somaj, 
showing  that  a  nominal  and  Christless  gospel 


2^6  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

is  more  likely  to  be  vanquished  than  vic- 
torious in  conflict  with  paganism. 

Japan,  again,  warns  us  of  the  risk  of  pro- 
crastination in  missions.  A  nation  ready  to 
be  moulded  is  liable  to  be  marred ;  the  pli- 
ant sapling  may  be  easily  deformed,  or  the 
plastic  clay  shaped  for  dishonor.  Into  these 
openings  go  the  devil's  agents,  if  the  Lord's 
do  not;  and  while  we  sleep  they  sov/  tares 
in  the  mellow  soil.  What  can  be  more  im- 
portant than,  at  the  crisis  of  Japan's  history 
and  destiny,  to  flood  the  land  with  the  gos- 
pel !  A  whole  people,  forsaking  the  efl*ete 
faith  of  their  forefathers,  asks  for  a  better. 
Such  another  day  will  never  again  come  for 
that  land,  and  the  door  cannot  long  stand 
open.     It  is  now  or  never  ! 

Shintooism  may  be  powerless  and  Buddh- 
ism be  in  its  decadence,  and  the  priests  confess 
the  downfall  of  the  old  faiths ;  but  the  phil- 
osophies of  the  pantheist  and  materialist, 
atheist  and  agnostic,  are  even  now  boldly 
taught.  Spencer,  Huxley,  Darwin  and  Buckle, 
Mill   and  Strauss,  diffuse   their  new  gospel, 


THE   ELEMENTS  IN  THE   CRISIS.   277 

and  education  is  linking  itself  with  infidelity. 
Meanwhile,  nominal  Christianity  with  its  cere- 
monialism, the  form  of  godliness  w^ithout  its 
power,  comes  to  entrench  itself.  Romanism, 
expelled  in  the  seventeenth  century,  jesuiti- 
cally  renews  its  efforts  to  convert  the  Japan- 
ese in  the  nineteenth. 

In  papal  lands,  again,  delay  Is  irreparable 
damage.  The  popular  current  is  away  from 
Rome,  but  in  the  direction  of  infidelity.  Mil- 
lions are  sick  of  priest-craft,  and  feel  clerical- 
ism to  be  the  foe  of  freedom  and  well-being. 
But  the  reaction  is  toward  no  religion ;  in 
breaking  away  from  the  bonds  of  superstition 
there  is  a  proneness  to  refuse  all  restraints  of 
conscience  and  divine  law. 

These  multitudes  are  grossly  ignorant,  to  a 
degree  of  which  we  have  little  conception. 
The  little  ones  in  our  Protestant  Sunday- 
schools  at  least  know  the  Bible  from  the 
prayer-book,  wdiich  many  a  Romanist  does 
not.  So,  in  the  Greek  Church,  a  Russian 
peasant  thought  the  Trinity  was  composed  of 
"  the    Saviour,  the  Mother  of  God,  and   St. 


2/8  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

Nicholas,  the  miracle-worker."  Thousands 
of  adherents  of  these  churches  have  abso- 
lutely no  knowledge  of  evangelical  truth. 
Their  ignorance  leaves  them  at  the  mercy  of 
designing  demagogues,  corrupt  politicians, 
and  infidel  anarchists.  They  need  enlighten- 
ment; and  as  ignorance  gives  way  to  intelli- 
gence, the  intellect  that  is  casting  off  its 
shackles  must,  by  a  coeducation  of  intellect 
and  conscience,  be  kept  from  running  liberty 
into  license.  Now  is  the  time,  when  eyes  are 
opening,  to  pour  in  the  light  of  the  gospel. 

Once  more,  we  seem  to  see  the  angel 
standing  with  one  foot  upon  the  sea  and  the 
other  upon  the  land,  with  the  open  book  in 
his  hand,  and  to  hear  him  swear  that  "  there 
shall  be  delay  no  longer;''^  while  to  God's 
Church  comes  His  majestic  message,  ''Thou 
must  prophesy  again  before  many  peoples 
and  nations  and  tongues  and  kings." 

There  can  be  neither  excuse  nor  extenua- 
tion for  the  sluggishness  that  leaves  the  em- 
issaries of  the  devil  to  preoccupy  the  mission 

1  Rev.  X.  6,  margin. 


THE  ELEMENTS  OF  THE  CRISIS,  279 

field,  and  sow  the  tares  before  we  have  sown 
the  seed  of  the  kingdom;  to  furnish  the  pa- 
gan with  a  coat  of  mail  wherewith  to  ward  off 
the  arrows  of  the  truth.  While  the  mission- 
ary press,  suffering  from  financial  drought, 
sends  its  little  rill  of  pure  water  into  desert 
places,  Satan's  presses,  with  royal  riches  at 
disposal,  flood  the  land  with  poisoned  streams 
of  Western  scepticism.  It  is  the  old  parable 
illustrated.  Here  is  the  house  of  heathenism, 
out  of  which  has  gone  the  unclean  spirit;  but 
we  leave  it  empty,  and  seven  other  spirits  ^ 
more  wicked  than  the  first  enter  in  and  dwell 
there ;  and  the  last  state  is  worse  than  the 
first.  Oh  for  the  zeal  that  pushes  into  the 
house  in  advance  of  the  evil  one  ! 

There  is  no  discouragement  that  need  dis- 
may a  living,  praying,  working  church.  John, 
in  apocalyptic  vision,  and  as  the  final  victory 
of  the  hosts  of  God  draws  nigh,  sees  the  "  devil 
come  down,  having  great  wrath,  because  he 
knoweth  that  he  hath  but  a  short  time."  The 
violence  of  Satan  makes  no  impression  on  a 
well  panoplied  church,  whose  shield  of  faith  is 


28o  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

able  to  quench  even  his  fiery  darts;  but  to 
a  church  lacking  in  missionary  principle  and 
activity  he  may  work  disaster  that  centuries 
will  not  repair. 

Every  conceivable  motive,  therefore,  urges 
us  to  undertake  the  last  great  crusade  against 
the  powers  of  darkness.  The  command  of 
our  ascended  Lord,  the  voice  of  an  enlight- 
ened conscience,  the  impulse  of  the  new  na- 
ture, the  leading  of  the  providential  pillar, 
the  working  of  transforming  grace,  the  gran- 
deur of  the  opportunity  and  the  peril  of  delay, 
—  all  these  converge  like  rays  in  one  burning 
focus,  urging  us  onward  and  forward  to  the 
outposts  of  civilization  and  the  limits  of  hu- 
man habitation  with  the  word  of  life.  Let  the 
trumpet  signal  be  heard  all  along  the  lines ! 
God  has  already  sounded  His  signal,  and,  like 
that  peal  at  Sinai,  it  is  long  and  loud.  The 
last  precept  and  promise  of  our  Lord,  which 
have  inspired  all  true  service  and  sacrifice, 
echo  with  new  force  and  emphasis,  louder  and 
clearer,  in  the  face  of  new  openings  and  new 
victories.  Blessed  is  he  who,  like  Paul,  is  im- 
mediately obedient  unto  the  heavenly  vision. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  UNHEEDED   SIGNALS. 

SECOND  important  element  in  the 
crisis    of  missions    is   the    practical 
insensibihty  and  indifference  of  the 
Church  as  a  whole. 

Dr.  Anderson,  whose  words  have  been  al- 
ready quoted,  said,  with  painful  conviction, 
that  the  greatest  lack  of  the  church  of  our 
day  is  that  it  does  not  yield  a  ready  response 
to  the  providence  of  God.  God's  voice  is 
heard,  awful  with  divine  majesty,  imperial  in 
its  authority,  commanding  an  advance  of  the 
entire  host  and  a  combined  assault  upon  the 
citadels  of  the  enemy;  and  while  the  voice 
speaks  the  cloud  moves,  leading  the  way, 
marking  its  course  by  constant  conquest, 
inspiring  obedient   souls  with  courage,   and 


282  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

assuring  those  who  have  the  faith  and  forti- 
tude to  follow,  that  complete  triumph  is 
before  them. 

Yet,  while  every  motive  urges  and  impels 
us  forward,  we  are  in  some  respects  going 
backward.  Unbelief,  instead  of  echoing 
God's  call  for  enlargement,  actually  dares  to 
cry,  "  Retrenchment !  "  That  has  been  the 
motto  of  our  mission  boards  for  ten  years ;  it 
has  echoed  through  our  mission  fields  like 
a  death-knell  to  missionary  advance.  Last 
year  in  one  of  our  important  mission  centres 
in  Asia  the  only  boys'  school,  girls*  semi- 
nary, and  printing-press  had  to  be  closed  for 
want  of  money  to  carry  them  on.  A  great 
Board,  oppressed  with  debt,  and  vainly  ap- 
pealing to  the  churches  for  help,  said  to  its 
representatives  abroad,  *'  You  must  cut  down 
your  outlay  at  least  one  tenth."  And  so  at  a 
time  when  even  to  stand  still  is  to  fall  back, 
this  cry  of  *'  Retrench !  "  became  the  key- 
note of  missions. 

The  gospel  is  God's  economy  of  grace  for 
the  entire  race  of  man,  sunk  in  the  same  ruin. 


THE    UNHEEDED  SIGNALS.  283 

By  the  first  Adam  came  one  generic  fall,  and 
by  the  second  Adam  comes  one  generic  re- 
demption, —  a  universal  remedy  for  universal 
sin.  Between  these  lost  souls  and  this  great 
salvation,  the  one  living  link  is  the  believer, 
whose  lips  and  whose  life  are  to  unite  in  wit- 
nessing to  the  "  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world."  The  glorious 
work,  the  dispensation  of  the  gospel,  is  com- 
mitted to  us  all;  being  one  with  Christ  by 
faith,  love  and  labor  are  to  make  us  a  bond 
between  Him  and  the  lost  whom  He  came 
to  seek  and  to  save. 

Here  is  an  "■  altar  that  sanctifies  the  gift." 
The  widow's  mites,  laid  thereon,  are  not  only 
sanctified,  but  magnified  and  glorified:  they 
grow  into  shekels  of  the  sanctuary,  precious 
as  gold,  pellucid  as  crystal.  But  when,  bet- 
ter than  the  richest  offerings,  self  is  laid  on 
the  altar  of  missions,  God's  own  fire  comes 
down,  not  to  consume  but  to  consecrate  and 
glorify.  Our  Lord  waits  to  *'  see  of  the  trav- 
ail of  His  soul,"  and  to  "■  be  satisfied ;  "  and 
the  sluggishness,  selfishness,  and,  shall  we  say 


284  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

it?  stinginess,  of  disciples  actually  hinder  the 
great  consummation ! 

We  shall  have  to  account,  as  a  Church,  for 
an  apathy  that  verges  on  apostasy.  We 
should  forget  the  trifles  that  often  engross 
our  thoughts  and  even  our  meetings  as 
churches  and  as  courts  of  Christ;  cease  to 
contend  over  mere  secular  issues,  points  of 
order,  clerical  etiquette,  and  minor  matters  of 
all  sorts ;  and  send  forth  through  the  Church 
one  mighty  clarion-call,  in  God's  name  de- 
manding both  consecrated  capital  and  conse- 
crated character,  to  fill  the  needs  of  our 
mission  fields.  In  such  an  hour  as  this  not 
even  prayer  will  suffice.  For  nearly  a  cen- 
tury the  church  of  God  has  been  lying  on 
her  face  before  God,  asking  for  an  open  path 
through  impassable  barriers.  Between  us  and 
the  thousand  million  pagans  a  Red  Sea  lay, 
too  broad  to  bridge,  too  deep  to  wade,  too 
angry  and  stormy  to  cross.  God  has  driven 
it  back,  and  here  is  a  dry  highway :  the  waters 
that  were  a  wall  to  obstruct  are  now  a  wall 
to   protect.     What  are  we  still  lying  on  our 


THE    UNHEEDED   SIGNALS.  285 

face  for,  praying  for  God's  interposition? 
He  says,  "Wherefore  criest  thou  unto  me? 
Go  forward  !  "  This  is  not  a  time  to  stop, 
even  to  pray.  We  must  not  delay.  Just 
now,  "  laborare  est  orare,"  — work  is  worship. 
Yes,  work  is  worship ;  what  James  calls  the 
Ber](rc<;  evepyov/ievrj  —  the  energetic  supplica- 
tion—  is  just  now  the  only  acceptable  prayer. 
There  are  times  when  the  only  true  supplica- 
tion is  the  supply  of  men  and  means  and  mate- 
rial of  war.  The  Church  has  been  asking  for 
nearly  two  thousand  years  that  the  kingdoms 
of  this  world  might  become  the  kingdom  of 
our  Lord  and  of  His  Christ.  And  now,  behold 
the  highway  for  our  God  !  mountains  levelled, 
valleys  exalted,  to  make  a  plain,  level  road 
from  Christendom  as  a  centre,  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth.  The  chariot  of  God  is  ready;  but 
notwithstanding  it  has  a  divine  motor,  it 
moves  very  slowly,  because  the  stones  are 
not  gathered  out  of  the  way,  and  professed 
disciples  drag  on  it  as  a  dead  weight.  Ava- 
rice, appetite,  ambition,  a  secular  spirit,  en- 
grossing worldly  schemes,  ignorance  of  facts, 


286  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

and  practical  indifference,  block  the  way; 
while  lazy  self-indulgence,  enervating  luxury, 
vicious  habits  of  selfishness,  forgetfulness  of 
stewardship,  leave  the  very  church  of  God  to 
hang  as  a  hinderance  upon  the  wheels,  instead 
of  pushing  them  onward.  Vain  to  pray  that 
"  the  Word  of  the  Lord  may  have  free  course 
and  be  glorified,"  while  such  hinderances  are 
encouraged. 

There  is  little  danger  of  exaggerating  the 
grandeur  of  our  opportunity,  or  the  greatness 
of  our  responsibility,  or  the  peril  of  unfaith- 
fulness, neglect,  or  even  delay.  The  church 
of  God  must  answer  to  the  Master  for  the 
practical  indifference  that  to-day  curses  our 
membership  in  the  matter  of  missions.  A 
whole  generation  is  going  down  to  the  grave. 
What  we  are  going  to  do  for  our  fellow-men 
of  our  generation  must  be  done  while  they 
remain  to  be  reached,  and  we  remain  to 
reach  them. 

Does  the  Church  appreciate  the  privilege 
of  being  co-workers  together  with  God? 
There  is  a  definite  purpose  in  His  mind,  and 


THE   UNHEEDED  SIGNALS.  287 

He  has  been  working  along  the  hnes  of  that 
plan,  steadily,  from  the  beginning.  That  plan 
is  bound  to  succeed.  Even  our  apathy  can- 
not thwart  it.  But  He  may  be  compelled  to 
do  with  us  as  He  did  with  the  Oriental 
churches  of  the  apostolic  age,  that,  engrossed 
in  selfishness,  wrapped  themselves  in  Laodi- 
cean self-complacency  and  were  spued  out  of 
His  mouth  like  lukewarm  water.  Our  candle- 
stick will  be  removed  out  of  its  place  if  v/e  do 
not  hold  forth  the  Word  of  life,  and  shine  as 
lights  in  the  world;  and  another  church  will 
take  the  place  of  the  church  of  this  generation 
that  refuses  to  respond  to  the  Providence  of 
God  and  obey  the  signals  from  the  great 
Commander. 

The  Earl  of  Cairns,  in  his  last  missionary 
appeal  before  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
in  Exeter  Hall,  March  24,  1885,  urged  on  his 
hearers  the  great  considerations  not  of  duty 
so  much  as  of  privilege.  In  this  work  we 
enter  into  partnership  with  God.  Every  dol- 
lar given  to  missions,  and  every  effort  or 
prayer  put  forth  in  their  behalf,  are  expres- 


288  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

sions  of  fellowship  in  God's  eternal  purpose 
and  work ;  and  this  is  why  the  altar  so  sancti- 
fies the  gift.  He  told  a  short  but  simple 
story  illustrating  this.  In  Belfast  there  was 
a  little  boy,  a  chimney-sweep.  He  hap- 
pened to  be  attracted  by  missions,  and  con- 
tributed to  a  mission-box  a  sum  which  was 
not  inconsiderable  for  a  chimney-sweep, — 
the  sum  of  twopence.  One  afternoon  a 
friend  of  this  boy  met  him  going  along  the 
street  in  an  unusual  condition,  for  his  hands 
and  his  face  were  washed,  and  he  was  dressed 
in  very  good  clothes.  And  the  friend  said 
to  him,  ''Halloa!  where  are  you  going?" 
"  Oh,"  he  said,  "  I  am  going  to  a  missionary 
meeting." — '*What  are  you  going  to  a  mis- 
sionary meeting  for?"  **  Well,"  said  the 
sweep,  "  you  see  I  have  become  a  sort  of 
partner  in  the  concern,  and  I  am  going  to  see 
how  the  business  is  getting  on." 

It  is  even  so.  He  who  in  any  way  hear- 
ing the  call,  responds  to  it  with  prayers  and 
tears,  with  service  and  sacrifice,  with  the 
gifts  of  wealth  or  the  mites  of  poverty,  with 


THE    UNHEEDED   SIGNALS.  289 

labor  or  with  life,  is  a  partner  with  God  in 
the  celestial  business  of  bringing  salvation  to 
a  lost  world;  and  no  man,  woman,  or  child 
can  give  prayerfully  without  a  growing  inten- 
sity of  interest,  watching  how  the  business  is 
getting  on. 

Thomas  Cooper^  has  told  us  that  Handel's 
Hallelujah  Chorus  was  an  inspiration.  This 
grandest  of  all  musical  harmonies  was  com- 
posed to  celebrate  the  spread  of  the  Redeem- 
er's kingdom.  "  The  Bible  and  all  it  reveals 
—  but  more  especially  the  theme  of  redemp- 
tion—  dwelt  much  in  Handel's  memory  and 
in  his  heart  and  mind.  He  grasped  the  state- 
ments of  Christianity  as  facts,  —  facts  as  re- 
markable as  his  own  existence ;  and  rejoiced 
with  an  elevated  joy  in  the  belief  that  this 
Christianity  would  one  day  fill  the  earth.  It 
is  this  elevated  joy  of  his  own  heart  and  soul 
that  he  strives  to  express  in  his  unequalled 
Hallelujah." 

Lord  Northbrook,  at  the  Church  Mission- 
ary meeting  in  June,  referred  to  his  feelings 
1  Thoughts  at  Fourscore,  p.  345. 
19 


290         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

at  hearing  this  glorious  chorus  sung  at  the 
opening  of  the  Indian  and  Colonial  Exhibi- 
tion, adding,  that  it  was  not  so  much  the 
music  as  the  words  and  thoughts  that  thrilled 
him.  This  greatest  of  all  musical  creations 
was  inspired  by  the  faith  that  from  sea  to  sea, 
and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
His  dominion  shall  extend ;  and  that  from 
every  part  of  this  earth  shall  yet  rise  the 
choral  shout,  "  Hallelujah  !  for  the  Lord  God 
omnipotent  reigneth."  Even  so,  Lord  Jesus, 
come  quickly ! 

That  is  the  grander  chorus,  of  which  Han- 
del's Hallelujah  is  but  the  faint  and  distant 
anticipation.  It  will  combine  the  voices  of 
patriarchs  and  prophets,  apostles  and  martyrs, 
and  all  loyal,  loving  saints  of  all  the  ages. 
Nor  is  there  in  all  the  world,  in  the  obscurest 
hovel  of  poverty,  one  humble  soul  that  prays 
*'  Thy  kingdom  come,"  that  lays  consecrated 
offerings  on  the  altar  of  missions,  who  shall 
not  join  that  final  anthem,  as  one  who  has 
helped  forward  the  great  consummation. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE  LEAVEN   OF  A  NEW  THEOLOGY. 


THIRD  element  in  this  crisis  de- 
mands a  special  notice,  for  it  may, 
in  part,  account  for  the  shameful 
apathy  and  lethargy  that  allow  a  thousand 
millions  of  human  beings  to  live  and  die  with- 
out the  gospel.  We  refer  to  the  practical 
doubt,  if  not  denial,  of  their  lost  condition, 
which  is  largely  the  fruit  of  the  attempt  to 
improve  upon  the  old  gospel. 

A  subtle  leaven  is  pervading  the  lump. 
Evangelistic  effort  was  almost  abandoned  for 
a  thousand  years  through  the  loss  of  the  sense 
of  obligation  and  responsibility.  During  the 
Dark  Ages  there  was  no  missionary  activity. 
Even  after  the  great  Reformation  had  dawned 
in  VVycliffe,  and  Savonarola,  Huss,  Luther, 
Knox,  and  Calvin  had  borne  the  fiery  cross 


292  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

into  Italy,  Bohemia,  Germany,  Scotland,  and 
Switzerland,  it  took  three  centuries  to  bring 
the  Reformed  Churches  to  see  that ''  the  field 
is  the  world,"  and  "  that  the  good  seed  are 
the  children  of  the  kingdom,"  who  are  not 
only  to  sow  the  Word  of  God  in  the  soil  of 
every  part  of  that  field,  but  to  plant  them- 
selves as  living  witnesses  in  the  midst 
of  pagan  society,  and  become,  even  from 
martyr-graves,  the  seed  of  a  harvest  of 
souls ! 

The  duty  of  a  world-wide  evangelism  is 
now  universally  recognized,  or  at  least  not 
denied.  Even  churches  that  do  nothing  and 
give  nothing  have  not  the  temerity  to  dispute 
the  claims  of  a  lost  world  upon  those  who 
have  the  "  corn,"  and  will  get  a  curse  if 
they  "withhold  it."  But  now  another  "par- 
alytic stroke "  dulls  our  nerves  of  sensation 
and  palsies  our  nerves  of  motion.  There  is  a 
current,  though  unexpressed,  belief  that  a 
universal  and  saving  element  runs  through 
all  religious  systems ;  that  there  is  a  "  Light 
of  Asia"  as  well  as  a  "  Light  of  the  world ;  " 


LEAVEN  OF  A   NEW   THEOLOGY.     293 

that  Christianity  is  only  an  evolutional  prod- 
uct, the  tenth  and  best  of  all  the  "  religions," 
and  the  fittest  to  survive,  but  not  the  only 
faith  that  contains  elevating,  and  even  re- 
deeming, influences. 

**  God  is  not  so  unjust,"  it  is  said,  "  as  to  al- 
low the  heathen,  who  never  heard  of  Christ, 
to  perish  because  they  were  not  converted ;  " 
and  so  the  responsibility  of  conveying  to  them 
the  message  of  salvation  is  thrown  off  without 
much  disturbance  of  conscience.  In  fact,  an 
intelligent  man  once  evaded  an  earnest  appeal 
in  behalf  of  the  heathen  by  declaring  it  "  pre- 
sumptuous to  interfere  with  other  people  in 
the  peaceable  enjoyment  of  their  religion." 

This  apathy  of  misconception,  this  paral- 
ysis of  action,  are  encouraged,  and  we  are 
lulled  to  a  death-like  torpor  and  stupor,  by 
the  "  new  theology."  There  is  a  wide-spread 
hope  of  a  probation  after  death,  of  a  restora- 
tion of  the  wicked  after  a  purgatorial  punish- 
ment, or  of  a  final  restitution  of  all  things, 
when  even  Moab  and  Edom,  Tyre  and  Phil- 
istia,    are    to    take    their    place    among    the 


294  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

nations,  and  have  an  opportunity  to  embrace 
Immanuel  as  Saviour  and  King. 

This  is  the  Devil's  master-piece  of  strategy 
to  keep  the  hosts  of  God  within  the  walls  of 
luxurious  indolence,  when  they  should  march 
and  move  outward  against  the  citadels  of  su- 
perstition and  idolatry.  The  old  heresies, 
scotched  but  not  killed,  revive  from  stun- 
ning and  seemingly  fatal  blows,  to  renew 
the  conflict  upon  modern  fields.  Paul  en- 
countered those  in  his  day  who  opposed 
evangelistic  labor,  "  forbidding  us  to  speak 
to  the  Gentiles  that  they  might  be  saved,  to 
fill  up  their  sins  alway ;  for  the  wrath  is  come 
upon  them  to  the  uttermost."  ^ 

We  must  either  give  up  the  inspiration  of 
the  Word,  or  accept  the  lost  condition  of  the 
world.  The  epistle  to  the  Romans  leaves  no 
standing-room  for  candid  doubt,  unless  we 
deny  that  Paul  spake  under  the  moving  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  That  masterly  epistle,  which 
is  logic  on  fire,  begins  with  a  fearful  indict- 
ment of  the  whole  pagan  world  for  idolatry 

1  I  Thess.  ii.  i6. 


LEAVEN  OF  A   NEW   THEOLOGY.    295 

and  iniquity  ;  and  affirms  that  "they  are  with- 
Old  excuse^  because  that  when  they  knew  God, 
they  glorified  Him  not  as  God,"  etc. 

The  speculative  question  as  to  the  spir- 
itual estate  and  prospects  of  the  heathen  is 
here  answered  practically.  They  are  not 
condemned  for  rejecting  Christ  whom  they 
had  no  opportunity  to  accept,  nor  for  not 
using  light  which  they  did  not  have ;  but  be- 
cause they  shut  their  eyes  to  the  light  which 
they  had,  'Mid  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their 
knowledge,"  and  ''  held  doivii  the  truth  in  un- 
righteousness," as  a  man  holds  down  and 
chokes  an  antagonist.  In  every  age  the 
heathen  have  had  more  knowledge  of  God 
than  they  have  desired  or  used.  Ever  since 
creation  there  have  been  open  before  men 
the  book  of  nature,  manifesting  His  eternal 
power  and  Godhood ;  and  the  book  of  their 
own  complex  nature,  with  its  divine  powers 
of  thought,  love,  conscience,  and  will.  From 
these,  as  well  as  from  God's  providence  in 
history,  they  might  have  read  of  Him.  Yet 
they  perversely  deified  blocks  of  wood  and 


296  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

stone,  and  worshipped  the  created  thing  — 
from  the  sun  down  to  the  beetle  —  rather 
than  the  Creator.  They  ran  from  the  light 
to  their  dark  holes,  like  bugs  that  burrow  in 
the  earth;  they  abandoned  themselves  to 
crime,  lust,  sin;  and  so  God  judicially  aban- 
doned them,  first  to  uncleanness,  then  to 
vile  affections,  and  last  of  all  to  a  reprobate 
mind.  They  are  to  be  judged  not  by  our  su- 
pernatural light,  but  by  their  own  natural 
light;  they  sinned  without  law,  and  with- 
out law  they  perish. 

This  argument  in  the  first  chapter  Paul 
supplements  in  the  tenth  by  a  series  of 
questions.  "  How  then  shall  they  call  on 
him  in  whom  they  have  not  believed?  and 
how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they 
have  not  heard?  and  how  shall  they  hear 
without  a  preacher?  and  how  shall  they 
preach  except  they  be  sent?  "  These 
questions  are  indirect  affirmations  that  the 
preacher  must  be  sent  to  them,  that  they 
may  hear,  and  hearing,  believe,  and  believ- 
ing, call,  and  calling,  be  saved. 


LEAVEN  OF  A   NEW   THEOLOGY.     297 

This  does  not  limit  the  power  or  grace  of 
God.  If  there  be  anywhere  a  soul  feeling 
after  God,  following  the  light  of  nature  and 
of  conscience,  in  hope  and  faith  that  the 
Great  Unknown  will  somehow  give  more 
light,  and  lead  to  life  and  blessedness,  we 
may  safely  leave  such  to  His  fatherly  care. 
He  who  sent  Peter  to  tell  a  Roman  centurion 
words  whereby  he  and  his  house  might  be 
saved;  He  who  went  to  the  very  coasts  of 
Canaan,  to  help  one  poor  woman ;  He  who 
bade  Philip  join  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  that 
he  might  guide  a  perplexed  inquirer,  —  will 
not  leave  any  sincere  seeker  to  seek  in  vain. 

But  this  concession  does  not  touch  the 
practical  question  of  a  world's  degradation 
and  destitution.  If  there  come  up,  to  those 
twelve  gates  that  open  to  every  quarter,  a 
Confucius,  a  Zoroaster,  a  Socrates,  a  Seneca, 
a  Buddha,  or  some  who  from  huts  and  hovels 
looked  for  a  dawn  that  never  greeted  and 
gladdened  their  eyes,  God  may  so  glorify  His 
grace,  and  demonstrate  the  possibility  of  any 
real    inquirer's   being   led    and    lifted   up  by 


298         THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

God;  but  the  salvation  of  the  few  would 
only  justify  the  condemnation  of  the  rest. 

It  is  time  disciples  were  done  with  spiritual 
Darwinism.  The  religion  of  Christ  is  no 
evolution  from  other  faiths,  and  survival  of 
the  fittest.  Like  Aaron's  rod,  it  swallows  all 
the  others,  embracing  all  that  is  true  in  any 
other  faith;  but,  like  Aaron's  rod,  it  is  the 
only  rod  that  buds,  for  it  alone  is  the  power 
and  wisdom  of  God  unto  salvation.  If  life  is 
to  come  to  the  dead,  it  must  be  by  the  touch 
of  this  divine  rod.  We  are  not  left  to  the  ca- 
pricious winds  of  human  doctrine,  and  the 
sleight  and  cunning  craftiness  of  men  who  lie 
in  wait  to  deceive.  The  Word  of  God  is  our 
only  guide  and  authority,  and  it  gives  no  un- 
certain sound.  We  hear  there  not  one  word 
about  salvation  without  Christ.  All  are  con- 
cluded under  sin,  and  involved  in  one  con- 
demnation ;  to  all  alike  one  gospel  is  sent, 
and  must  be  borne  by  those  who  have  it. 

God  counts  silence,  inaction,  indifference 
among  mortal  sins.  The  blood  of  a  thou- 
sand   millions    of  souls   will   be  required  of 


LEAVEN  OF  A   NEW  THEOLOGY.    299 

this  generation.  Nearly  two  thousand  years 
have  gone  by  since  our  Lord  said,  "  Go  ye 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature  ;  "  and  yet  Christendom  stands 
idly  facing  a  lost  world,  grudgingly  sends  ten 
thousand  workers  into  the  world-field,  and 
gives  ten  millions  of  dollars  a  year  for  the 
work ;  and  then  lazily  swings  in  silken  ham- 
mocks spun  out  of  fine  theories  and  specu- 
lations about  "  second  probation  "  and  *'  final 
restoration  ;  "  sinks  into  calm  repose,  surfeited 
with  repasts  whose  crumbs  would  feed  a 
starving  world ;  and  at  last  ventures  into  the 
presence  of  God,  to  face  a  whole  generation 
of  lost  souls  for  whose  salvation  no  personal 
effort  has  practically  been  made ! 

When  the  Holy  Ghost  endues  us  for  ser- 
vice, He  first  anoints  our  eyes  with  eye-salve, 
that  we  may  see  the  hell  of  hopelessness  into 
which  souls  are  sinking.  Only  when  we  see 
and  feel  this  to  be  the  fact  shall  we  be 
divinely  impelled  and  compelled  to  shout  the 
tidings  of  salvation,  till  it  sounds  in  the  sepul- 
chres of  heathendom  like  the  trump  of  God. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 
THE    SPIRIT    OF    MISSIONS. 


N  such  a  crisis  as  this  there  is  but 
one  thing  that  can  be  done  to  meet 
-the  emergency.  Those  within  the 
church  who  feel  its  importance,  who  accept 
as  a  fact  the  ruin  of  a  lost  race,  and  who  re- 
spond to  the  providence  of  God,  must,  with- 
out waiting  for  any  new  conditions  in  the 
church  at  large,  move  forward  in  faith  and 
prayer,  relying  upon  Him  who  can  enable 
one  to  chase  a  thousand,  and  two  to  put  ten 
thousand  to  flight;  with  Whom  all  things  are 
possible. 

There  is  too  much  work  yet  to  be  done  to 
allow  of  delay.  We  cannot  even  wait  for 
reinforcements.  Hundreds  of  millions  of 
human  beings  have  not  yet  heard  so  much 
as  the  faintest  echo  of  the  gospel  trumpet. 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  MISSIONS.  301 

Mission  stations,  even  where  most  thickly 
planted,  are  but  scattered  oases  in  an  im- 
mense stretch  of  desert,  or  stars  in  a  firma- 
ment,—  centres  of  vast  vacancies.  Contrasted 
with  the  hosts  of  unsaved,  untaught  heathen, 
all  missionary  laborers  together  form  but 
an  insignificant  number.  Among  the  more 
cultivated  and  among  the  more  degraded 
pagans,  only  a  bare  start  has  been  made 
toward  evangelization ;  the  territory  of  Islam 
is  yet  almost  intact;  and  even  where  missions 
have  been  most  successful,  the  extent  of  the 
dominion  of  the  death-shade  is  so  great,  that 
milHons  often  constitute  the  parish  dependent 
upon  one  man's  curacy. 

Every  day's  delay  complicates  the  problem. 
While  we  are  sounding  the  silver  trumpets  to 
rally  a  sluggish  host  to  the  onset,  the  emis- 
saries of  infidelity  preoccupy  the  field.  A 
vicious  education  rears  new  barriers  between 
pagan  hearts  and  the  gospel.  And  so  in 
many  ways  the  professed  disciples  of  Christ 
are  not  only  failing  in  their  duty  to  this  lost 
world,    but    are    responsible    for    permitting 


302  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

new  obstacles  to  accumulate.  With  a  sad 
heart  we  record  the  deep  conviction  that  in 
the  lack  of  the  spirit  of  missions  within  the 
church  itself  Hes  both  the  secret  of  the  slow 
response  to  our  Lord's  appeal,  and  the  main 
hinderance  to  the  world's  evangelization. 

In  not  a  few  cases  the  principle  of  missions 
is  not  practically  operative  in  our  church 
life.  Some  of  God's  people  have  not  yet 
learned  the  lesson  that  the  conditions  of  vital- 
ity in  a  church  are  not  only  self-government 
and  self-support,  but  self-propagation.  The 
seed  that  sprang  up  among  thorns  grew  long 
and  spindling,  but  it  all  ran  to  stalk;  there 
were  no  kernels  in  the  ear.  What  a  picture 
of  the  Christians  in  whom  the  cares  of  the 
world,  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  and  the 
lusts  of  other  things  entering  in  choke 
the  word,  so  that,  whatever  be  the  apparent 
growth  and  outward  prosperity,  there  is  de- 
veloped no  full-grown  corn  in  the  ear,  no 
seed  of  propagation  by  which  other  harvest 
fields  are  to  be  sown  !  Hundreds  of  evangel- 
ical congregations  give  nothing  to  missions 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  MISSIONS.  303 

at  home  or  abroad,  and  the  blanks  in  the 
columns  of  reports  year  by  year  seem  to 
cause  them  no  blushes  of  shame.  Sheldon 
Dibble's  remark,  as  to  the  need  of  Christians 
to  be  converted  to  an  interest  in  missions, 
finds  an  echo  in  Christlieb's  declaration  of 
the  need  of  a  threefold  conversion :  namely, 
of  the  heart,  to  secure  holy  affections ;  of  the 
Jiead,  to  assure  right  convictions;  and  of  the 
purse,  to  assure  ample  offerings. 

Where  this  principle  of  missions  is  not 
firmly  rooted  and  practically  fruitful,  not 
only  does  it  hinder  missions,  but  the  Church 
runs  risk  in  breathing  its  own  atmosphere. 
Dr.  Duff  has  observed  that  the  church  that 
is  no  longer  evangelistic  will  soon  cease  to 
be  evangelical.  The  weapons  of  aggressive 
warfare  are  the  best  protection  for  defensive 
warfare.  Missions  are  the  best  apologetics, 
for  they  are  the  dynamics  of  the  Church,  the 
vindication  and  justification  of  our  faith,  the 
sure  means  of  strength  and  growth;  and  to 
enshrine  and  enthrone  missions  in  the  very 
heart  of  the   Church   is  the   surest  hope  of 


304  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

a    revival    of   pure    and    primitive    piety   at 
home. 

That  missions  should  need  a  plea  in  their 
behalf  marks  the  low  ebb  of  spiritual  life. 
The  very  nature  of  the  word  of  life  is  to  run 
and  spread.  '*  You  cannot  gather  water  in 
heaps,  unless  you  allow  it  to  freeze."  Fire 
will  spread  while  it  finds  fuel,  and  when  it 
can  no  longer  spread,  dies  away,  first  to 
embers  and  then  to  ashes.  The  plea  of  in- 
ability to  give  is  often  not  only  selfish,  but 
hypocritical.  Even  in  a  financial  crisis 
plenty  of  money  is  found  for  luxury  and 
frivolity.  Such  selfishness  is,  we  fear,  the 
cloak  of  an  unregenerate  heart.  A  personal 
faith  in  Christ  begets  a  personal  love  for  the 
lost,  whom  He  came  to  seek  and  to  save; 
and,  as  Christheb  phrases  it,  "  He  who  cannot 
stand  on  this  platform  is  the  object  of  mis- 
sions, not  the  subject  of  them."  We  do  not 
need  Max  Miiller  to  tell  us  that  "  Christianity 
is  in  its  nature  a  missionary  religion,  convert- 
ing, advancing,  aggressive,  encompassing  the 
world,"    so  long  as   the    divine   key-note    of 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  MISSIONS.  305 

all  church  history  and  church  life  has  been 
struck  in  the  command  of  Christ  himself: 
"  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature."  A  church  cold 
toward  missions  will  find  heathenism  in 
popular  forms  gaining  ground  within  her 
courts,  till  the  theological  theses  of  her  can- 
didates for  licensure  betray  a  destructive 
scepticism,  like  some  in  Bonn,  which  as- 
saulted belief  in  the  miraculous  as  an  ''  epi- 
demic insanity." 

The  principle  of  missions  is  not  enough, 
however,  without  the  spirit  of  missions ;  a 
law  of  labor  for  souls  will  not  suffice  without 
the  love  for  Christ  and  for  souls,  which  is  the 
life-secret  of  such  labor.  While  the  spirit  of 
missions  is  still  lacking,  no  machinery  will  be 
adequate ;  the  men  and  money  will  still  be 
shamefully  inadequate,  both  to  the  extent  of 
the  field  and  the  needs  of  the  work,  and  to 
the  number  of  disciples  and  the  means  at 
their  disposal.  Give  us  the  spirit  of  missions, 
and   the  territory  now  scarcely  approached 

will    be    at    once     surrounded,    penetrated, 
20 


306  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

possessed ;  and  a  new  motive-power  will  be 
supplied,  that  will  transform  cold  duty  into 
ecstatic  delight. 

Only  this  spirit  of  missions  can  ever  supply 
the  deficiency  of  laborers.  The  fields  of  the 
papacy,  now  so  strangely  opening  to  the  cir- 
culation of  the  Bible  and  the  preaching  of  the 
cross,  inviting  the  sowing  of  the  seed  of  the 
kingdom,  and  yielding  harvests  so  rapidly 
that  reaper  overtakes  ploughman,  —  these 
fields  alone  might  well  occupy  all  the  laborers 
now  at  work  throughout  the  whole  mission 
field.  At  this  very  day  the  working  force 
should  be  multiplied  fifty-fold  in  Syria,  Persia, 
and  Korea ;  a  hundred-fold  in  India,  Turkey, 
and  Japan;  and  a  thousand-fold  in  China, 
Africa,  and  the  papal  states. 

We  need  the  spirit  of  missions  to  increase 
our  gifts.  There  is  quite  as  much  deficiency 
in  money  as  in  men ;  our  gifts  to  the  great 
cause  are  alarmingly  disproportionate  both 
to  the  openings  for  work  and  to  our  ability. 
From  the  four  quarters  the  very  wings  of  the 
wind  waft  to  our  ears  the  Macedonian  cry; 


THE  SPIRIT.  OF  MISSIONS.  307 

and  yet  our  missionary  boards  bow,  year 
after  year,  under  a  load  of  debt,  which,  if 
lifted  by  herculean  effort,  is  only  renewed. 
And  in  the  midst  of  a  work  which  will  not 
bear  even  to  stand  still,  we  are  actually  going 
back.  God  bore  much  from  Israel's  unbe- 
lief in  the  desert.  Is  He  bearing  nothing 
from  His  church  of  to-day? 

We  should  cherish  not  only  the  princi- 
ple and  the  spirit  of  missions,  but  also  se- 
cure thorough  organization  and  co-operation. 
No  congregation  is  so  small  or  weak  that  it 
needs,  or  can  afford,  to  pass  missions  by. 
The  weakness,  assigned  as  a  cause,  is  often 
a  consequence  of  such  neglect.  It  keeps  a 
church  weak  to  do  nothing  for  those  who 
are  without;  unselfish  effort  quickens  its 
pulse  and  strengthens  its  sinews.  Self-ex- 
tension reacts  to  promote  self-support;  and 
if  churches  now  having  only  a  name  to  live 
would  nourish  and  cherish  the  spirit  of  mis- 
sions, there  would  be  growth  both  in  numbers 
and  in  graces.  The  Moravians,  with  but 
twenty  thousand  adult  communicants,   have 


308  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

no  rival  as  a  missionary  body.  One  out  of 
every  seventy  of  their  membership  is  in  the 
mission  field ;  and  out  of  their  poverty  they 
raise  an  annual  missionary  income  of  $240,- 
000,  an  average  of  twelve  dollars  per  member  ! 
Even  the  smallest  and  the  poorest  disciple  is 
expected  to  give  something  to  further  the 
Lord's  work. 

A  thorough  organization  for  the  work  will 
include  a  thorough  dissemination  of  a  cheap, 
attractive  missionary  literature.  The  facts 
must  be  more  widely  known.  We  must  put 
new  life  into  our  concerts  for  prayer.  Our 
whole  church  activity  must  be  consecrated 
by  a  new  spirit;  otherwise,  even  in  the  midst 
of  a  bustling  activity,  we  may  incur  what 
Warneck  counts  the  chief  risk,  ''  that  mis- 
sionary enterprise  shall  glide  into  mere 
routine,  missionary  zeal  become  so  much 
rhetoric,  and  participation  in  missionary  work 
degenerate  into  mere  habit,  not  to  say  eccle- 
siastical business." 

,■     We   need    a   more    consecrated    ministry. 
jHere  the  revival  of  the  missionary  spirit  must 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  MISSIONS.  309 

begin.  "  Like  people,  like  priest"  [  The  pas- 
tor's life  usually  fixes  the  flood-mark  for  the 
tides  of  church  life,  and  very  seldom  do  they 
rise  higher.;  William  Burns  incarnated  the 
gospel ;  and  to  this  day  the  Chinese  feel  the 
power  of  his  consecration.  When  pastors 
burn  and  glow  with  a  divine  ardor  and  fervor 
toward  the  work  of  universal  missions,  the 
people  will  raise  a  loftier  standard  of  mission- 
ary zeal.  Dr.  Duff,  when  leaving  for  India 
in  1829,  said:  ''There  was  a  time  when  I 
had  no  care  or  concern  for  the  heathen; 
that  was  when  I  had  none  for  my  own  soul. 
When  by  the  grace  of  God  I  was  led  to  care 
for  my  own  soul,  I  began  to  care  for  them. 
In  my  closet  I  said :  '  O  Lord,  silver  and 
gold  have  I  none.  What  I  have  I  give :  I 
offer   Thee    myself!     Wilt   Thou  accept   the 

gift?'" 

We  need  a  more  hallowed  and  missionary 
atmosphere  in  our  colleges  and  seminaries. 
There  it  is  that  the  ministers  are  made ;  and 
there  the  first  battles  of  the  missionary  field 
are  fought,  as  Waterloo  was  fought  at  Eton. 


3IO         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

The  question  of  duty  to  the  heathen  presents 
itself  during  the  preparation  for  the  sacred 
calling.  How  much  depends  on  the  careful, 
prayerful  weighing  of  these  august  claims ! 
He  who  is  not  ready  for  a  life  of  self-denial 
hastily  dismisses  them ;  carnal  considerations 
give  the  casting  vote  in  favor  of  home  fields 
that  promise  richer  returns  of  salary,  human 
praise,  worldly  promotion,  and  personal  ease. 
We  need  spiritually  minded  men  in  the  chairs 
of  our  educational  institutions,  who  shall 
plainly  teach,  as  Professor  Phelps  sharply 
puts  it,  that  he  who  is  not  ready  to  preach 
the  gospel  anywhere,  is  fit  to  preach  it  no- 
where. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

THE   LIVING   LINKS. 

jNE  of  the  practical  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  the  prosecution  of  missions 
is  found  in  the  immensity  of  the 
field,  and  its  remoteness.  Even  the  most 
dihgent  student  of  missions  finds  that  his 
knowledge  only  makes  him  more  conscious 
of  his  ignorance ;  and  the  money  given  seems 
like  a  little  water  scattered  over  vast  territo- 
ries cursed  with  perpetual  drought.  As  to 
the  great  mass  of  our  church  members,  they 
know  nothing  about  the  subject,  and  have 
only  a  vague  notion  that  about  a  thousand 
million  of  souls  are  in  darkness  and  destitu- 
tion. Their  offerings  are  put  into  a  bag  with 
holes :  they  drop  out  of  sight,  and  fall  some- 
where, but  are  never  traced,  or  heard  from 
again.     How  it  would  quicken  both  praying 


312  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

and  giving,  if  there  could  be  a  little  closer 
contact  between  the  Church  and  the  awful 
destitution  of  heathendom ! 

A  great  lack  in  our  churches  is  the  lack  of 
living  links  between  them  and  the  foreign 
field.  When  one  of  their  own  number  goes 
abroad,  and  is  supported  by  the  church  at 
home;  where  contributions  to  the  support 
of  teachers,  schools,  or  pupils  abroad  bring 
back  letters  of  a  personal  character;  where, 
in  any  way,  direct  communication  and  contact 
are  established  by  correspondence  with  a  defi- 
nite field,  —  it  is  very  helpful  in  the  increase 
both  of  knowledge  and  of  zeal.  The  highest 
ideal  of  beneficence  is  that  in  which  our  gifts 
are  guided  by  that  sublimely  unselfish  spirit 
that  embraces  the  whole  world,  and  is  con- 
tent to  pour  liberally  into  the  missionary 
treasury  without  tracing  the  streams  to 
their  terminus.  But  we  are  all  weak  saints. 
It  is  well  to  be  disinterested ;  but  the  danger 
just  now  is  of  being  ?/;2interested.  The 
Church  has  been  classified  into  '*  Mission, 
Anti-Mission,  and  Omission  "  Christians,  and 


THE  LIVING  LINKS.  313 

nothing  practically  reduces  the  latter  two 
classes  more  than  direct  relations  with  some 
field  through  some  known  and  loved  mis- 
sionary. The  church  that  sends  out  la- 
borers from  its  own  number,  and  through 
them  becomes  acquainted  with  the  field,  its 
people,  wants,  discouragements,  and  develop- 
ments, will  grow  in  intelligence,  sympathy, 
offerings,  and  prayers  for  the  whole  work. 
We  are  deeply  persuaded  that  such  living 
links  between  the  home  churches  and  the 
mission  field  are  means  of  grace.  After 
long  watching  of  the  development  of 
the  missionary  spirit  in  active,  aggressive 
churches,  we  have  come  to  the  calm 
conclusion  that  if  this  great  work  is  to 
be  properly  prosecuted,  each  church  must 
have  some  definite  field  to  work,  and  must 
send  to  and  support  in  that  field  its  own 
workers. 

This  need  not  interfere  with  the  general 
prosecution  of  missions,  by  leaving  obscure 
and  unattractive  fields  to  be  neglected.  Let 
the  assignment  of  the.  separate  fields  be  left 


314  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

to  the  missionary  boards,  as  the  channels  of 
distribution  and  communication;  let  there 
be  a  general  offering  for  the  general  work, 
as  well  as  special  offerings  for  particular 
workers  in  chosen  fields.  But  let  us  have 
in  our  church  life  the  incentive,  the  inspira- 
tion, found  in  the  closer  study  of  some  one 
people  with  their  customs,  creeds,  religions; 
some  one  field  with  its  needs  and  claims ;  and 
let  the  men  and  women,  sent  out  from  our 
own  church-home,  both  draw  out  our  interest, 
sympathy,  prayers,  and  gifts  toward  the  field, 
and  be  the  channel  of  information  and  intelli- 
gence from  the  field  to  us. 

Pastor  Harms's  church  in  Hermansburgh  is 
the  convincing  proof  and  illustration  of  this 
law  of  human  nature.  In  1849,  thirty-seven 
years  ago,  a  glimpse  of  the  destitution  of 
heathendom,  as  they  saw  it  through  the  eyes 
of  a  poor,  disabled  candidate,  moved  that 
congregation  of  poor  peasants,  farmers,  and 
laborers,  to  organize  a  society  for  sending  the 
gospel  to  foreign  parts.  A  widow  brought 
six  shillings,  a  laborer  sixpence,  and  a  child 


THE  LIVING  LINKS.  315 

a  silver  penny.  And  upon  this  slender  pe- 
cuniary basis  was  built  up  the  most  colossal 
individual  missionary  enterprise  of  the  ages. 
No  bolder  act  is  to  be  found  in  the  history  of 
missions  than  that  of  Louis  Harms,  when  he 
proposed  to  his  people  to  be  their  own  mis- 
sionaries, when  he  undertook  to  inspire  poor 
farmers,  ignorant  peasants,  and  rude  day-la- 
borers to  volunteer  for  missionary  purposes, 
and  both  create  and  sustain,  alike  with  money 
and  men,  their  own  missions.  It  was  very 
decidedly  ''out  of  the  usual  course,"  and  so 
was  the  first  Pentecost;  but,  like  that,  it  was 
a  moving  of  God.  All  the  zeal  of  that  par- 
ish was  turned  into  a  new  channel,  and  the 
first  definite  development  was  the  coming 
forward  of  volunteers  who  ofi'ered  to  be- 
come the  living  links  between  Hermans- 
burgh  in  Hanover  and  heathendom.  One 
volunteer  brought  his  farm,  and  this,  with  its 
plain  farm-house,  was  turned  into  a  training- 
school. 

Africa  was  chosen  as  a  field,  and  the  train- 
ing of  the  raw  recruits  began.     A  sailor  who 


3l6  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

joined  the  ranks  suggested  the  building  of  the 
ship,  and  in  1853  the  "Candace"  sailed  with 
a  missionary  colony  comprising  eight  mis- 
sionaries, two  smiths,  a  tailor,  butcher,  dyer, 
and  three  laborers.  They  sought  to  pierce 
through  Natal  among  the  Kaffirs,  and  work 
north,  linking  station  to  station  in  a  chain. 
They  were  in  constant  exchange  of  mission- 
ary intelligence  and  friendly  personal  letters ; 
and  in  order  to  diffuse  this  intelligence  more 
widely,  and  develop  these  personal  ties  of 
sympathy  more  richly,  a  missionary  maga- 
zine was  established,  edited  and  published 
on  the  premises  of  their  own  training- 
school.  That  ship  moving  to  and  fro  was 
the  shuttle  weaving  a  closer  and  fuller 
bond  of  contact  with  heathen  peoples,  and 
those  letters  and  gifts  and  living  men  and 
women  were  the  fleshly  fibres  woven  and 
braided  into  that  bond.  That  ship  was  a  con- 
stant appeal  and  challenge ;  and  as  often  as 
it  returned,  new  recruits  were  ready.  More 
than  forty  left  at  one  time,  and  in  one  year, 
1863,  one  hundred  offered  themselves. 


THE  LIVING  LINKS.  317 

During  the  seventeen  years  of  Louis 
Harms's  conduct  of  the  enterprise,  that 
parish  enjoyed  one  long  revival,  and  ten 
thousand  members  were  gathered  into  that 
church-fold ;  while  the  work  grew  abroad, 
so  that  in  1883,  thirty  years  after  the 
"Candace"  first  set  sail,  over  thirty  sta- 
tions had  been  established,  they  had  forty 
ordained  missionaries,  fifty-five  lay,  and  as 
many  more  women,  missionaries,  twenty-two 
natives  ordained,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  helpers,  —  a  total  working  force  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty-seven ;  had  gathered  three 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty  com- 
municants, and  eight  thousand  five  hundred 
and  twenty  adherents,  from  heathendom,  and 
spent  that  year  seventy  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars.  Instead  of  finding  their  sympathies 
and  efi*orts  narrowing  by  such  specific  labors 
in  one  field,  the  result  has  been  to  expand 
and  enrich  their  missionary  spirit,  to  render 
it  more  catholic  and  cosmopolitan  ;  and  so  we 
find  them  sending  missionaries  to  India,  Aus- 
tralia, and  even  America. 


3l8         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

Let  it  be  observed  that  this  small  and 
obscure  parish  in  Hanover  had  no  proxies 
or  substitutes.  They  constituted  their  own 
board,  became  their  own  secretaries,  edited 
their  own  missionary  magazine,  and  organ- 
ized and  administered  their  own  mission 
work.  Is  it  not  barely  possible  that  the 
boards  of  foreign  missions,  instead  of  be- 
ing the  mere  agents  or  instruments  of  the 
active  benevolence  of  our  churches,  are  in 
too  many  cases  a  substitute  for  it?  Are  not 
our  people  quite  too  content  to  give  an  an- 
nual offering  to  missions  through  some  such 
treasury,  leaving  to  wise  and  able  secretaries 
not  only  to  distribute  funds  and  workers, 
but  to  conduct  all  correspondence?  When 
inteUigence  from  the  field  is  printed  in  a 
missionary  magazine,  only  some  twenty  thou- 
sand copies  of  it  are  circulated  among  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  communicants,  and 
out  of  that  twenty  thousand,  one-quarter 
sent  gratuitously  to  ministers  and  missiona- 
ries. Would  it  not  be  a  grand  help  to  the 
diffusion   of  missionary   intelligence,  to   the 


THE  LIVING  LINKS.  319 

increase  of  missionary  offerings,  and  to 
the  awakening  of  a  profoundly  prayerful, 
personal,  and  sympathetic  interest,  if  each 
church  might  be  linked  to  the  heathen 
world  by  the  life  of  some  consecrated  man 
or  woman ;  and  best  of  all,  if  that  person  be 
one  sent  out  from  among  their  own  number, 
known  personally,  loved  dearly,  whose  very 
name  becomes  inseparably  connected  with 
the  work  of  a  world's  redemption?  If  the 
life  of  Harriet  Newell,  Adoniram  Judson, 
David  Livingstone,  Alexander  Duff,  makes 
all  our  pulses  bound  anew  with  yearnings 
to  save  the  lost,  what  would  be  the  effect 
on  any  church  from  which  such  heroic  souls 
went  down  into  the  deep  mine  of  heathenism, 
charging  those  whom  they  left  behind  to  hold 
the  rope? 

The  experiment  is  surely  worth  the  trial. 
After  centuries  of  comparative  failure  to  com- 
pass this  great  want,  we  may  well  undertake 
some  new  scheme,  such  as  in  so  many  in- 
stances has  proven  grandly  successful  in  culti- 
vating the  spirit  of  missions.    If  nothing  more 


320  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

is  feasible,  surely  certain  missionary  laborers 
might  be  put  in  correspondence  with  par- 
ticular churches,  whose  offerings  might  be 
appropriated  for  their  support,  wholly  or 
partially.  What  is  desirable  is  that  the 
churches  at  home,  and  the  mission  fields 
and  mission  workers  abroad,  should  get  into 
contact  and  communication ;  so  that  the 
bond  of  sympathy,  conscious  fellowship,  and 
intelligent  interest  might  grow  and  become 
more  vital ;  so  that  the  same  influences  which 
now  reach  so  powerfully  the  hearts  of  our  de- 
voted missionary  secretaries  might  thrill  and 
vitalize  the  dead  body  of  our  church  member- 
ship. Where  is  the  church  that  supports  a 
missionary  in  a  foreign  field,  and  gets  soul- 
stirring  letters  from  such  a  missionary,  that 
does  not  feel  more  interest  in  all  the  fields 
and  all  the  workers? 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

THE   PROBLEM    OF   MISSIONS. 

HE  spirit  of  missions  being  cherished, 
and  developed  by  a  true  organiza- 
tion, the  great  problem,  requiring  a 
solution,  is  the  lack  of  men  and  of  means  to 
occupy  the  field  and  to  accomplish  the  work. 

We  may  roughly  estimate  the  souls  that  in 
Pagan,  Moslem,  Papal,  and  nominally  Chris- 
tian lands  still  need  to  be  reached  with  a 
pure  gospel  at  a  thousand  millions ;  and 
the  whole  number  of  missionary  laborers,  at 
thirty-five  thousand.  Could  each  of  these 
carry  on  the  work  of  evangelization,  indepen- 
dently, each  worker  would  have  to  care  for 
nearly  thirty  thousand  souls.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  more  than  twenty-five  thousand  of  these 
laborers  are  unordained  native  assistants, 
fit  only  to  aid  trained  workmen ;   so  that  we 


322  THE   CRISIS   OF  MISSIONS. 

have  not  more  than  ten  thousand  missionaries, 
native  and  foreign,  competent  to  conduct 
this  work.  Each  of  these  must  therefore 
assume  an  average  responsibility  of  07ie  hwi- 
di'ed  thotisand  souls ;  meanwhile,  the  total 
sum  annually  spent  on  foreign  missions  is 
about  ten  millions  of  dollars^  —  an  allowance  of 
07ie  cent  a  year  for  each  soid  of  this  thotisand 
million  ! 

Nothing  can  be  plainer,  without  argument, 
than  that  the  church  of  Christ  has  never  yet 
attempted  to  solve  the  problem  of  missions. 
Dr.  Duff  was  right  in  saying  that  we  are 
*'  playing  at  missions."  Were  true,  sound, 
sensible  business  principles  applied  to  this 
question,  no  practical  hinderance  would  be 
found  sufficient  even  to  delay  the  prosecution 
of  the  work  solemnly  committed  by  Christ 
to  His  church.  Let  us  have  throughout  the 
Church  thorough  organization  and  practical 
co-operation,  and  within  the  lifetime  of  one 
generation  the  gospel  may  be  preached  for 
a  witness,  not  only  among  all  nations,  but  to 
every  living  creature. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  MISSIONS.       323 

Let  us  consider  that  here  is  the  command 
of  the  King  of  kings,  for  more  than  eighteen 
centuries  waiting  for  obedient  disciples  to 
carry  it  out.  Mordccai,  five  hundred  years 
before  Christ,  issued  a  decree  in  the  name  of 
Ahasuerus.  It  was  the  third  month,  Sivan, 
on  the  three  and  twentieth  day,  that  the 
king's  scribes  were  called  to  put  that  decree 
in  writing;  it  was  addressed  to  the  Jews, 
lieutenants,  deputies,  and  rulers  of  the  prov- 
inces which  reached  from  India  unto  Ethio- 
pia,—  a  hundred  and  twenty-seven  provinces; 
it  had  to  be  translated  into  the  language  of 
each  province,  and  promulgated  with  haste. 
There  were  no  facilities  for  doing  this  v/ork 
such  as  we  possess ;  no  printing-presses, 
postal  unions,  telegraphs;  no  railroads  and 
steam-ships.  Every  copy  must  be  tran- 
scribed by  hand,  and  the  messengers  must 
go  only  so  fast  as  horses  and  mules,  camels 
and  dromedaries,  could  carry  them.  And 
yet  through  all  those  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  provinces  the  decree  was  published 
upon  the  thirteenth  day  of  the  twelfth  month, 


324  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

Adar.  Less  than  nine  months  to  bear  the 
king's  message  throughout  his  wide  domain, 
while  the  church  of  Christ,  after  nearly  nine- 
teen Jiundred  years,  has  reached  only  one 
fourth  of  the  Jiitman  race  with  the  gospel  of 
salvation. 

An  English  preacher  asked  some  British 
soldiers,  "  If  Queen  Victoria  were  to  issue  a 
proclamation,  and,  placing  it  in  the  hands  of 
her  army  and  navy,  were  to  say,  '  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world  and  proclaim  it  to  every  crea- 
ture,' how  long  do  you  think  it  would  take  to 
do  it  ?  "  One  of  these  brave  fellows,  accus- 
tomed to  obey  orders  without  hesitation  or 
delay,  and  at  peril  of  life,  promptly  answered, 
•'  Welly  I  think  we  cotild  manage  it  in  about 
eighteen  mo7iths!' 

There  are,  perhaps,  in  round  numbers  one 
hundred  million  of  Protestants  in  the  world. 
Could  each  of  that  number  somehow  reach 
ten  of  the  unsaved,  the  whole  thousand  mil- 
lion would  be  evangelized ;  and  could  each 
be  brought  to  give  one  cent  a  day,  our  mis- 
sionary treasuries  would  overflow  with  three 


THE   PROBLEM  OF  MISSIONS.       325 

hundred  and  sixty-five  millions  of  dollars 
every  year.  Of  course  we  cannot  depend 
ujDon  any  such  numbers  in  this  work.  Nomi- 
nal Protestants  include  millions  of  mere  pro- 
fessors, members  of  state  churches,  formalists 
and  ritualists,  and  millions  more  who  do  not 
even  profess  to  be  disciples,  and  are  openly 
immoral  and  infidel. 

But  let  us  suppose  that  there  are  ten  mil- 
lions of  true  disciples  who  can  be  brought 
into  line,  and  who  by  systematic  effort  can 
be  made  to  furnish  men  and  money  for  this 
work,  even  witJt  this  tenth  part  of  Christendom 
the  world  may  be  evangelized  before  the  tweji- 
tieth  cetttnry  dawns. 

We  are  not  responsible  for  conversion^  but 
we  are  responsible  for  contact.  We  cannot 
compel  any  man  to  decide  for  Christ,  but  we 
may  compel  every  man  to  decide  one  w^ay  or 
the  other;  that  is,  we  may  so  bring  to  every 
human  being  the  gospel  message,  that  the 
responsibility  is  transferred  from  us  to  him, 
and  that  we  are  delivered  from  blood  guilti- 
ness.    God  will  take  care  of  the  results,  if  we 


326  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

do  our  duty.  We  are  to  preach  this  gospel 
everywhere  for  a  witness,  not  coldly,  officially, 
formally,  but  earnestly,  prayerfully,  lovingly; 
we  are  to  set  up  Christian  churches,  schools, 
institutions,  homes,  in  the  midst  of  pagan 
communities,  as  part  of  this  witness  to  the 
power  of  the  gospel ;  then,  whether  the  gos- 
pel prove  a  savor  of  life  or  of  death,  our 
fidelity  will  not  fail  of  its  reward. 

We  repeat,  that  it  is  our  solemn  and  mature 
conviction  that  before  the  close  of  this  cen- 
tury the  gospel  might  be  brought  into  con- 
tact with  every  living  soul ;  for  if  we  could 
so  orcranize  and  utilize  ten  millions  of  disci- 
pies  as  that  every  one  should  be  the  means 
of  reaching  with  the  good  tidings  one  hundred 
other  souls,  during  the  lifetime  of  this  gen- 
eration all  the  present  population  of  the 
globe  would  be  evangelized;  or  if  the  sub- 
lime purpose  should  inspire  the  whole  church 
to  do  this  work  before  this  century  ends, 
each  of  this  ten  million  believers  has  only  to 
reach  between  seven  and  eight  souls  every 
year  for  the  fourteen  years  that  remain. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  MISSIONS.       12  J 

For  many  years  the  writer  has  been  urging, 
both  by  tongue  and  pen,  the  necessity  and 
feasibihty  of  a  grand  campaign  for  Christ, 
with  reference  to  the  immediate  occupation 
of  all  unoccupied  fields,  and  the  immediate 
proclamation  of  the  gospel  to  every  living 
soul ;  and  after  a  wide  discussion  of  the  prop- 
osition by  some  of  the  ablest  writers  upon 
the  subject  of  missions,  the  conviction  is  only 
established  that  the  present  crisis  impera- 
tively demands  that  the  entire  forces  of  the 
Christian  church  should  be  enlisted  and 
engaged  in  this  glorious  work.  A  spirit  of 
consecrated  enterprise  should  apply  to  this 
giant  problem  the  best  and  soundest  busi- 
ness principles ;  a  system  should  be  devised 
which  shall  prevent  waste  of  time,  money, 
and  men,  and  economize  and  administer  all 
the  available  force  of  the  Church.  The  im- 
perial clarion  of  our  Lord  summons  all  his 
hosts  for  the  great  crusade. 

Nehemiah  was  a  model  organizer.  He 
built  up  the  broken  walls  of  the  Holy  City, 
and  with  a  small,  poor  remnant  of  the  people 


328  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

finished  the  work  in  fifty-two  days.  The 
perfection  of  his  organization  was  the  secret 
of  his  success,  and  it  embraced  three  grand 
principles:  first,  dhision  of  labor,  every  man 
at  work  over  against  his  own  door;  secondly, 
co-operation,  all  engaged  in  one  work  and 
operating  upon  one  plan ;  thirdly,  concentra- 
tion, all  at  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  rallying 
to  defend  any  weak  and  assaulted  point. 
Put  those  three  principles  into  practice  in 
the  work  of  foreign  missions,  and  we  may 
build  the  wall  of  gospel  witness  around  the 
world  in  a  few  years;  we  may  push  the 
advance  of  our  missionary  hosts  so  rapidly 
and  systematically,  that  on  every  hill,  in  every 
valley,  from  equator  to  poles  and  from  sea  to 
sea,  the  gospel's  silver  trumpet  shall  sound. 

Fifty  years  ago  seven  humble  shoemakers 
in  a  shop  in  Hamburg  undertook  the  work 
of  evangelization  on  the  principle  of  individ- 
ual responsibility.  In  twenty  years  they  had 
organized  fifty  churches,  gathered  ten  thou- 
sand converts,  distributed  four  hundred  thou- 
sand Bibles  and  eight  million  pages  of  tracts, 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  MISSIONS.       329 

and  preached  the  gospel  to  fifty  millions  of 
people.  As  they  went  from  place  to  place, 
the  work  grew,  and  new  converts  inspired 
with  similar  zeal  became  helpers,  so  that  a 
population  as  great  as  that  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  the  Congo  Free  State,  heard 
the  gospel  within  those  twenty  years.  If  any 
are  distrtlstful  of  mere  arithmetic  as  applied 
to  the  problem  of  missions,  here  is  a  practi- 
cal proof  that  it  is  perfectly  feasible  so  to 
organize  the  work  as  to  reach  one  hundred 
millions  of  people  every  year,  and  that,  too, 
with  only  an  insignificant  Gideon's  band. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE  LABORERS   ARE   FEW. 

UMAN  life  is  too  brief  and  the  field 
is  too  great  for  the  Church  ever  to 
overtake  the  needs  of  the  field, 
without  a  large  increase  of  the  working 
force.  These  thousand  millions  of  unevan- 
gelized  souls  are  dying  at  the  rate  of  thirty 
millions  a  year,  and  as  many  more  are  com- 
ing on  the  stage  of  life.  What  can  these 
few  thousand  workers  do,  themselves  mortal, 
to  meet  the  wants  of  such  a  mortal  race? 
It  is  plain  that  what  we  are  to  do  for  our  own 
generation  we  must  do,  while  that  generation 
lasts  ;  and  this  is  utterly  impracticable,  if  not 
impossible,  unless  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  in 
answer  to  prayer,  sends  forth  more  laborers 
into  His  harvest. 


THE  LABORERS  ARE  FEW.         33 1 

We  say,  with  hesitation,  yet  from  the  force 
of  deep  conviction,  that,  if  we  would  largely 
increase  the  missionary  force,  we  must  in 
some  way  lessen  the  time  and  cost  of  tJie prep- 
aration of  the  average  workman. 

The  gathering  of  funds  is  sufficiently  slow, 
and  the  securing  of  volunteers  sufficiently 
difficult;  but  the  most  formidable  barrier  to 
the  work  of  evangelization  is  that,  even  where 
both  men  and  money  may  be  obtained,  it 
takes  too  long  a  time  and  too  costly  a  culture 
to  train  the  average  workman ;  and  this  one 
obstacle  often  overtops  all  others,  and  is 
practically  insurmountable. 

For  example,  a  pastor  whose  heart  and 
tongue  are  on  fire  urges  the  claims  of  a  lost 
world,  and  there  are  a  few  who  respond, 
"  Here  am  I,  send  me ;  "  but  they  are  gener- 
ally for  the  most  part  from  the  poorer  and 
less-educated  classes.  The  wealthy  are  often 
electro-plated  with  avarice,  and  our  appeals 
ring  upon  a  cold,  hard,  metallic  surface;  or 
worldly  schemes  and  business  pursuits  have 
them  in  their   coils.     The   cultivated    some- 


332  THE   CRISIS   OF  MISSIOA^S. 

times  drift  into  philosophic  doubt,  and  some- 
times are  ah'eady  engaged  in  the  learned 
professions,  or  journalism,  or  other  congenial 
work.  The  few  dormant  consciences  that  do 
awake  under  our  appeal  are  generally  found 
in  persons  to  whom  wealth  and  learning  do 
not  open  attractive  doors  at  home.  How 
disheartening,  when  one  such  offers  to  go  to 
those  regions  beyond,  to  be  told  at  the  outset 
that  from  five  to  ten  years  must  be  spent  in 
preparation  ! 

One  instance,  known  to  the  writer,  may 
stand  for  a  large  class.  A  young  Welshman, 
found  competent  to  exhort,  was,  after  the 
fashion  of  the  Welsh  Methodists,  licensed. 
Afterward,  coming  to  America  he  found  a 
home  in  one  of  our  Presbyterian  churches, 
where  he  was  much  esteemed  for  piety, 
capacity,  and  love  for  souls.  He  and  his 
earnest  wife  came  to  his  pastor  and  begged 
to  be  sent  to  a  foreign  field.  But  how  was 
he  to  get  a  license?  Though  he  was  sound 
in  doctrine,  he  had  neither  a  classical  nor 
theological    training,  and  had  no   means    to 


THE  LABORERS  ARE  FEW.         333 

pursue  a  prolonged  course  of  study.  The 
most  he  could  do  would  be  to  get,  under  his 
pastor,  a  training  in  theology,  church  history, 
and  the  English  Bible.  Unless  some  such 
shorter  road  to  the  mission  field  could  be 
found,  these  two  willing  souls  cannot  carry 
out  their  heart's  wish,  and  the  field  that  needs 
workmen  so  much  must  lose  two  devoted 
laborers. 

Some  denominations,  when  called  to  con- 
front such  perplexities,  cut  the  Gordian  knot 
by  putting  such  workers  into  the  field.  The 
Romanists  clothe  with  garb,  girdle,  and 
crucifix,  every  willing  and  loyal  servant  of 
the  church,  and  send  such  forth  with  a  bless- 
ing. The  Methodists  license  and  even  ordain 
those  who  are  apt  to  teach,  abating  the 
severity  of  the  demand  for  trained  and 
scholarly  men,  in  order  to  provide  more 
average  workmen.  Spurgeon,  working  on 
an  independent  basis,  sends  out  from  his  own 
college,  in  thirty  years,  nearly  a  thousand 
ministers,  missionaries,  and  evangelists,  after 
from  one   to  three   years  of  study.     Pastor 


334  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

Louis  Harms  trained  raw  recruits  in  his  mis- 
sion school,  and,  without  any  rigidly  uniform 
system  of  training,  sent  colonies  of  workers 
to  scores  of  new  stations,  encouraging  every 
willing  soul  to  do  the  work  for  which  he  was 
best  fitted,  and  further  fitting  each  workman 
for  the  proposed  sphere  of  labor. 

These  are  signs  of  the  times  that  ought  not 
to  be  undiscerned  or  unheeded.  It  is  possi- 
ble to  hold  fast  to  standards  of  qualification 
which  are  too  severe,  inflexible,  inelastic ; 
and  to  make  the  road  too  hard  and  too  long 
by  which  laborers  get  into  the  harvest  field. 
The  solemn,  weighty  calling  of  the  ministry 
ought  not  to  be  entered  too  hastily  or  easily; 
a  high  standard  helps  to  high  average  attain- 
ment, and  unduly  to  lower  the  standard  may 
lower  also  the  dignity  of  the  office.  All  this 
we  are  ready  cordially  to  concede,  as  also  the 
demand  of  these  days  for  trained  men.  But 
even  this  true  principle  may  be  pushed  to  an 
extreme ;  in  avoiding  laxity,  we  may  swing 
to  rigidity. 

Trained  men  are  everywhere  needed,  but  it 


THE  LABORERS  ARE  FEW.         335 

is  as  leaders,  planners,  organizers;  under  and 
behind  them,  very  many  who  have  far  less 
training  may  do  excellent  work.  One  master 
mechanic  not  only  guides  a  score  of  common 
workmen,  but  stamps  upon  their  work  the 
impress  of  his  own  genius,  taste,  and  skill ;  he, 
like  Briareus,  has  a  hundred  hands,  but  all 
guided  by  one  head.  A  few  West  Point  grad- 
uates plan  defences  and  strategic  movements 
for  the  ordinary  rank  and  file  to  garrison 
or  execute.  The  ministry  needs  scholarly 
leaders,  masterly  organizers;  but  under  a 
few  skilled  generals  an  army  of  volunteers 
may  move,  and  carry  the  enemy's  works  by 
storm. 

There  ought  to  be  a  change  in  our  ecclesi- 
astical tactics ;  our  system  of  training  for  the 
mission  field  must  be  more  flexible  and  more 
economical  of  time  and  money,  or  we  cannot 
send  workmen  into  the  great  world-field  in 
adequate  numbers.  Conservatism  will  counsel 
rigid  adherence  to  antiquated  custom,  on  the 
ground  of  jealousy  for  the  sacred  office  ;  and 
justify  a  prolonged  course  of  education  as  a 


336         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

severe  sifting  process,  that  separates  the 
pure  grain  and  leaves  the  incapable  and  ir- 
resolute to  be  blown  from  the  threshing- 
floor  like  chaff. 

At  the  same  time,  there  are  plain  facts 
that,  like  storm-signals,  fly  in  our  face  and 
bid  us  prepare  for  the  crisis,  even  now  at 
hand.  On  the  borders  of  our  own  land,  and 
in  foreign  lands,  where  our  trained  workmen 
confront  vast  vacancies  which  must  be  filled 
and  strategic  points  which  must  be  manned 
against  the  coming  conflict,  they  are  glad  to 
set  at  work  every  man  and  woman  that  can 
be  used.  Men  who  have  no  college  diploma, 
and  could  not  furnish  that  supreme  test  of 
scholarship,  the  "  Latin  essay,"  if  found  capa- 
ble, willing,  and  winning,  are  licensed  and 
ordained.  Abroad,  native  converts  who 
show  true  piety  and  develop  real  capacity 
are  authorized  to  preach,  and  set  as  pastors 
over  native  churches,  with  little  or  no  special 
training  except  in  the  Bible.  They  are  taught 
the  Gospels  as  their  "  systematic  theology," 
and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  as  their  *' church 


THE  LABORERS  ARE  FEW.         33/ 

history,"  and  the  sermons  of  Peter  and  Paul  as 
their  "■  homiletics,"  and  the  pastoral  epistles  as 
their  ''  pastoral  theology ;  "  and  then  put  into 
the  places  of  trust.  The  necessity  of  having 
more  helpers,  and  of  multiplying  self-support- 
ing churches  and  supplying  them  with  pas- 
tors, compels  those  who  are  on  the  ground, 
and  have  control,  to  shorten  and  simplify  the 
course  of  training. 

Why  should  not  the  whole  church  adopt 
the  same  policy?  The  ''  rules  '*  of  our  book 
are  servants,  and  not  masters,  and  should  be 
made  to  bend,  if  necessary,  to  bear  the  burdens 
of  mission  work.  Any  system  that  is  unduly 
oppressive,  and  that  tempts  us  to  evasions 
and  irregularities,  is  no  longer  a  harness,  but 
a  yoke,  or  a  strait-jacket,  and  needs  modifica- 
tion. It  is  the  almost  universal  testimony  of 
foreign  missionaries  that  we  are  making  a 
grave  mistake  in  demanding  of  candidates 
a  long  and  tedious  preparation,  irrespective 
of  their  capacity,  circumstances,  age,  charac- 
ter, or  prospective  field  and  work.  Facts 
show  that  scholastic  training  is  not  necessary 

22 


338  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

for  efifective  service.  There  are  scores  of 
heroic  men  doing  vaHant  battle  for  the  Lord 
and  the  faith,  who  were  never  in  college  or 
seminary.  Native  converts,  sent  out  in  apos- 
tolic fashion  as  lay-preachers  to  tell  the  sim- 
ple story  of  the  cross,  are  to-day  making 
disciples  by  the  hundreds  in  China.  Let  the 
church  of  Christ  devise  some  safe  way  by 
which  willing  souls  may  get  into  the  field  and 
at  work  without  this  long,  laborious,  costly 
preparation,  and  we  may  within  ten  years 
double  the  number  of  missionaries  in  home 
and  foreign  fields. 

Where  men  are  going  to  foreign  lands,  a 
part  of  their  training  might  be  left  to  be 
secured  on  the  ground,  while  engaged  in  the 
study  of  the  languages  of  the  people  among 
whom  they  are  to  labor.  Even  those  who 
cannot  preach,  but  are  willing  to  work,  may 
help  in  teaching,  Bible  and  tract  distribution, 
translating,  editing  and  printing,  or  even  in 
manual  labor,  all  of  which  are  closely  con- 
nected with  missionary  work.  Dr.  Crummell, 
himself  a  Cambridge  graduate,  after  twenty 


THE  LABORERS  ARE  FEW.         339 

years  on  the  Dark  Continent,  pleads  for  in- 
dustrial training.  The  superiority  of  Sierra 
Leone  over  Liberia,  as  prosperous  and  in- 
dependent, building  its  own  churches,  sup- 
porting its  own  ministers,  and  contributing 
largely  to  missionary  work,  he  attributes 
mainly  to  the  fact  that  the  slaves,  rescued  by 
English  cruisers  and  placed  there  for  safety, 
were  taught  trades  and  industries,  and  so 
became  prosperous  mechanics  and  merchants, 
and  founded  families  whose  children  have 
gone  to  England  for  scholarly  training. 

We  feel  persuaded  also  that  the  Church 
should  send  forth  not  only  individual  preach- 
ers and  teachers,  but  Christian  colonies^  to 
mission  fields.  Why  not,  in  Salt  Lake  Valley, 
confront  a  hideous  Mormonism  with  the  wit- 
ness of  a  Christian  community,  with  conse- 
crated homes,  and  workmen  who  abide  in 
their  calling  with  God  ?  Why  not  send 
similar  colonies  into  the  Congo  basin,  to 
plant  Christian  churches  and  schools,  to  illus- 
trate the  divine  idea  of  family  life  and  good 
government,  and  in  all  departments  of  indus- 


340         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

try  and  the  learned  professions,  exemplify 
the  spirit  of  the  gospel  in  the  presence  of 
hovels  of  polygamy,  mud  idols,  and  licentious 
indolence? 

We  advocate,  without  hesitation,  a  new  basis 
of  training  for  mission  fields,  a  shorter  course, 
and  one  more  practical  in  character.  Those 
who  are  to  do  good  work,  at  home  or  abroad, 
should  be  sound  in  doctrine,  familiar  with 
the  principles  of  New  Testament  church 
polity,  and  thoroughly  trained  in  the  English 
Bible.  Then  they  might  be  sent  to  their 
fields,  under  control  of  trusted  brethren,  to 
do  such  work  as  they  are  fitted  for,  and  spend 
the  time  that  would  have  been  spent  at  home 
in  Greek,  Latin,  and  Hebrew,  in  applying 
themselves  to  the  languages  they  are  to  use 
in  their  fields,  and  to  the  study  of  the  people 
among  whom  they  are  to  labor. 

This  method  would  have  this  additional 
advantage,  that  it  would  so  employ  candidates 
in  direct  work  for  souls,  as  to  keep  their  spirit- 
ual life  warm  and  earnest.  We  have  often 
observed  that  the  seven  years  of  our  college 


THE  LABORERS  ARE  FEW.         341 

and  seminary  life  not  infrequently  leave  candi- 
dates with  a  chronic  chill.  Long  withdrawal 
from  active  work,  and  absorption  in  mere 
study,  are  not  favorable  to  burning  zeal. 
Intellectual  standards  often  displace  the 
higher  spiritual  ideals.  If  young  men,  in  the 
ardor  and  fervor  of  their  first  love,  could  be 
promptly  trained  in  the  doctrinal  and  biblical 
basis  of  all  true  mission  work,  and  sent  to  the 
home  or  foreign  field  to  get  at  work  for  souls 
while  they  complete  their  preparation  for 
their  life-mission,  not  a  few  of  our  greatest 
missionaries  have  affirmed  that  immense  gain 
would  come  to  the  work  in  energy  and  enthu- 
siasm. The  converted  natives  who  are  set 
working  before  their  first  love  grows  cold, 
never  lose  that  first  love.  If  volunteers  could 
be  encouraged  to  go  promptly  forward  with 
preparations  for  the  field,  and,  without  tedious 
delay,  placed  in  the  field  and  at  work,  they 
would  never  lose  the  impulse  and  impetus 
of  their  present  earnestness  and  enthusiasm ; 
others  would  catch  fire  at  the  altar  of  their 
consecration,  and  we  might   find    ourselves, 


342  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

under  the  lead  of  Divine  Providence,  inmig- 
urating  a  new  era  in  Protestant  missiojis. 
It  Is  plain  that  something  needs  to  be  done 
beyond  what  Is  now  doing;  some  new  clew 
must  be  found  to  the  mazes  of  this  mis- 
sionary question ;  some  new  factor  found 
for  the  solution  of  the  greatest  practical 
problem  ever  before  the  Church.  What  we 
are  to  do,  must  be  done  quickly.  The  gen- 
eration is  passing  away,  and  we  with  it. 
These  mlUions  of  unsaved  souls  we  must  con- 
front at  the  bar  of  God.  What  can  we  do 
for  their  salvation,  —  nay,  for  our  own  salva- 
tion from  blood-guiltiness,  —  before  the  sun 
of  life  shall  set? 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

MEETING     THE     CRISIS. 

HE  field  Is  the  world,  and  the  church 
is  the  recruiting  office  for  workmen. 
The  great  disproportion  between  the 
immense  masses  of  the  unevangelized,  and  the 
available  resources  of  men  and  money  and 
means  from  which  the  working  force  must  be 
drawn,  makes  the  utmost  economy  necessary. 
The  Church  has  comparatively  few  who  can 
be  relied  on  to  supply  consecrated  workmen 
or  consecrated  capital  for  this  vast  work ;  and 
yet  we  are  positively  wasting  both  men  and 
money  by  the  rivalry  of  several  denomina- 
tions in  the  same  fields,  while  other  fields  are 
entirely  unoccupied. 

Dr.  Murray  Mitchell  said,  a  few  years  ago, 
that  it  is  a  disgrace  to  Protestantism,  that  only 
eighty  years  since,  the  mission  work  in  the 


344         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

regions  beyond  was  systematically  inaugu- 
rated; and  it  is  still  a  burning  disgrace  to 
the  church  of  Christ  that  the  millions  of 
Protestant  church-members  sustain  in  the  for- 
eign field  not  over  ten  thousand  men  and  wo- 
men, and  contribute  not  over  ten  millions  of 
dollars  yearly,  while  in  Scotland  alone  the 
Presbyterian  Church  has  more  than  three 
thousand  ministers. 

How  little  do  we  appreciate  the  fact  or  the 
extent  of  the  unoccupied  fields.  Anam,  with 
twenty  millions;  Kurdistan,  with  three  mil- 
lions; an  immense  tract  of  the  Dark  Conti- 
nent lying  north  of  the  equator;  the  vast 
Congo  basin,  touched  as  yet  only  on  its 
edges,  with  fifty  millions  more;  Afghanis- 
tan, with  eight  millions.  Thibet,  Mongolia, 
and  Arabia  have  recently  been  embraced 
in  the  great  missionary  girdle ;  but  only  a  be- 
ginning has  been  made,  and  we  might  prop- 
erly include  them  among  the  unoccupied 
fields.  Only  fragments  of  the  vast  popu- 
lations of  China,  Africa,  South  America, 
have  even  come  in  contact  with  the  gospel. 


MEETING   THE   CRISIS.  345 

The  Greek  and  papal  churches  hold  three 
hundred  millions  under  an  almost  unbroken 
spell  of  ignorance  and  superstition.  There 
are  one  hundred  and  seventy  millions  of  Is- 
lam's deluded  followers,  and  while  Christian 
missions  have  scarcely  approached  them, 
they  are  themselves  making  new  converts 
to  the  False  Prophet;  in  China  alone,  one 
hundred  thousand  proselytes  to  Mohamme- 
danism are  reported  as  the  result  of  a 
recent  aggressive  movement.  Meanwhile, 
every  year  a  vast  host,  equal  to  the  entire 
population  of  the  United  States,  passes  into 
eternity. 

The  destitution  of  the  great  countries  where 
missions  are  most  thickly  planted  is  still  ap- 
palling. When,  in  1881,  Mr.  Stevenson,  of 
the  China  Inland  Mission,  travelled  through 
China  from  east  to  west,  he  journeyed  sixty- 
one  days,  over  more  than  a  tJioiisand  miles, 
from  Bhamo  in  Upper  Burmah,  to  Chun-King 
in  the  province  of  Chuen,  without  finding  one 
mission  station  between  those  points;  and 
that  awful   shadow  thus  unrelieved   by  any 


346  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

gospel  light  was  a  thousand  miles  broad,  as 
well  as  long,  for  on  either  side  of  his  Hne  of 
travel  stretched  a  territory  five  hundred  miles 
in  breadth,  with  only  one  station,  Kwei-Yang, 
in  its  whole  extent.  In  a  word,  here  was  a 
square  of  territory  one  thousand  miles  long 
and  broad,  embracing  one  million  square 
miles,  thickly  populated,  and  three  mission 
stations,  two  of  them  on  its  extreme  borders 
and  one  between.  It  is  far  better  now;  but 
even  now  the  provinces  of  Kan-Suh  and 
Kwei-Chau  each  has  three  missionaries  for 
its  three  millions ;  Shen-Si  has  ten  missiona- 
ries for  ten  millions;  Yun-Nan,  four  missiona- 
ries for  six  millions.  Here  are  four  provinces, 
together  nearly  four  times  as  large  as  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  and  twenty  two  mil- 
lions of  people,  —  but  only  twenty  Protes- 
tant missionaries. 

At  such  a  rate,  the  church  of  Christ,  we 
repeat,  can  never  overtake  the  unevangelized 
population  of  the  earth.  Yet  our  Lord  meant 
no  absurdly  impracticable  project  when  He 
said,  "Disciple  all  nations."     It  would  be  easy 


MEETING    THE   CRISIS.  347 

for  a  consecrated  church  promptly  to  carry 
the  banner  of  the  cross  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  to  furnish  all  the  workers  needful,  and 
to  make  the  missionary  treasuries  overflow. 
If  one  Christian  woman  can  herself  disburse 
two  millions  of  dollars  in  benevolence ;  if 
one  Congregational  deacon  can  appropriate 
a  million  to  missions ;  if  twenty  persons 
in  one  year  can  together  give  nearly  four 
millions,  —  what  might  not  one  hundred 
million  Protestants  give,  if  only  a  tithe  were 
honestly  and  systematically  laid  on  God's 
altar? 

England  paid  for  the  war  in  Afghanistan 
sixty  millions,  while  one  eighth  of  that  sum 
was  all  the  entire  church  of  Christ  could 
devote  that  same  year  to  the  evangelization 
of  the  heathen,  the  world-wide  campaign 
for  Christ.  As  Dr.  William  Ashmore  says, 
"  Whiskey  is  the  stand-pipe  in  our  compara- 
tive expenditures ;  "  it  shows  how  much 
money  there  is  now  spent  for  one  article 
of  harmful  indulgence,  that  might  be  spent 
for    missions,   without    touching    our   actual 


34B  THE   CRISIS   OF  MISSIONS. 

necessities  or  comforts ;  and  the  whiskey  level 
is  nme  Jmndred  milliojts  annually. 

The  internal  revenue  tax  on  tobacco  in 
New  York  alone  in  1879  exceeded  seven 
millions  of  dollars.  How  true  it  is,  as  Rev. 
F.  T.  Bayley  says,  that  *'  a  deified  appetite 
outranks  a  crucified  Christ." 

For  liquor  and  tobacco  two  hundred  and 
fifty-five  times  as  much  is  annually  spent  as 
for  missions ;  or  taking  together  with  these, 
bread  and  meat,  sugar  and  molasses,  iron 
and  steel,  lumber,  cotton  and  woollen  fabrics, 
boots  and  shoes,  and  public  education,  every 
year  there  are  spent  in  these  various  direc- 
tions six  Jmndred  and  seventy-five  dollars  to 
every  dollar  given  to  foreign  missions. 

As  we  could  give  money  without  feeling 
it,  so  we  could  give  men.  Our  late  four 
years'  war  not  only  required  rivers  of  treas- 
ure, but  rivers  of  blood,  —  five  hundred 
thousand  lives  were  sacrificed  to  save  the 
Union.  Yet  we  give  to  the  heathen  world 
ten  thousand  men  and  women,  and  can  do 
no   more,    gathering    them   from   the   whole 


MEETING    THE   CRISIS.  349 

church  of  Christ.  The  missionary  band  has 
been  called  *'  heroic ;  "  and  it  is.  Gideon  was 
brave ;  but  even  after  his  force  was  reduced 
from  thirty-two  thousand  to  three  hundred, 
he  had  one  man  to  every  four  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  foe.  But,  as  Dr.  Ashmore  says, 
if  Gideon's  band  had  been  reduced  to  the 
same  proportion  as  the  missionary  band  to 
the  millions  they  confront,  he  would  have 
had  less  than  one  man  to  the  hundred  and 
thirty-five  thousand  Midianites. 

Can  anything  be  done  to  meet  this  present 
crisis?  The  writer  of  these  pages  begs  those 
who  are  praying  for  the  coming  of  the  king- 
dom to  consider  the  following  suggestions, 
in  addition  to  those  already  made. 

Let  a  great  council  of  disciples  be  called 
to  consider  the  question  of  the  world's  desti- 
tution, and  to  confer  as  to  its  speedy  evan- 
gelization. 

At  some  great  world-centre,  like  London 
or  New  York,  or  at  Rome,  the  old  heart  of 
the  papacy,  or  at  Constantinople,  the  golden 
gate  to  the  Moslem  empire,  or  at  Jerusalem, 


3 so  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

the  very  city  of  the  great  King,  let  an  ecu- 
menical council  be  summoned  to  meet,  as 
early  as  practicable,  and  let  every  evangeli- 
cal Christian  denomination  be  represented  by 
commissioners  clothed  with  authority ;  and  at 
such  a  council  let  three  things  be  done:  — 
_i-.  First,  let  workers  from  every  mission  field 
be  there,  like  Paul  and  Barnabas  on  their 
return  to  Antioch  from  their  first  mission 
tour,  to  ''  rehearse  all  that  God  has  done  with 
them,  and  how  he  has  opened  the  door  of 
faith  to  the  nations."  Let  them  present  that 
huge  mass  of  facts  which  shows  that,  since 
the  world  began,  no  half-century  of  history 
has  been  so  full  of  stupendous  and  startling 
interpositions  of  God  as  the  last  fifty  years  of 
modern  missions.  In  the  mouth  of  many  wit- 
nesses let  every  word  be  established ;  and  let 
it  be  shown  that  from  the  Pillars  of  Hercules 
to  the  Golden  Horn,  from  the  Arabian  Gulf 
to  the  Chinese  Sea,  from  the  silver  bergs  of 
Greenland  to  the  Southern  Cape  and  the 
Land  of  Fire,  God  has  flung  wide  the  ports 
and    portals   of  sealed    empires    and    hermit 


MEETING   THE   CRISIS.  35 1 

nations,  hurled  to  the  very  ground  the  walls 
and  barriers  of  ancient  customs  and  creeds, 
made  all  nations  neighbors,  and  woven  into 
unity  the  history  and  destiny  of  the  whole 
race  by  the  shuttles  of  traffic  and  travel.  Let 
all  men  face  the  fact  that  no  outlay  of  men, 
money,  and  means  ever  brought  returns  so 
rich  and  rapid  as  the  mission  enterprise; 
that  even  the  seeming  waste  of  precious 
lives  has  been  but  the  breaking  of  the 
costly  flask,  filling  the  world  with  the  odor 
of  unselfish  and  heroic  piety,  and  prompting 
to  its  imitation.  Let  the  Hawaiian  group, 
first-fruits  of  the  sea  unto  God,  send  her 
witnesses ;  let  Syria,  whose  soil  is  sacred 
with  Jesus'  blood,  tell  of  her  Christian 
schools  and  printing-presses ;  let  Madagas- 
car witness  the  power  of  the  gospel  that  has 
made  her  God's  angel  sounding  the  trumpet 
of  grace  at  the  eastern  gate  of  the  Dark  Con- 
tinent; let  the  Pacific  Archipelago  tell  of  the 
thousand  churches  that  point  their  spires  like 
fingers  to  the  sky;  let  the  witnesses  gather 
from   India,   where   the   ''  Lone    Star  "   has 


352  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

grown  to  a  constellation  of  glories ;  from  Ja- 
pan, striding  in  seven-league  boots  toward 
a  Christian  future ;  from  Italy  and  France, 
just  coming  forth  from  the  sepulchre  of  the 
Dark  Ages,  bursting  the  bonds  of  a  thousand 
years  of  priestcraft  and  superstition  ! 

The  church  of  Christ  is  asleep.  Let  a 
thousand  trumpets,  like  the  sound  of  many 
thunders  uttering  their  voices,  rouse  us  all 
from  apathy  and  lethargy.  Let  facts,  like 
the  fingers  of  God,  write  God's  message  on 
the  walls  of  our  temples  of  mammon  and 
palaces  of  luxury,  as  in  letters  of  fire,  till 
selfishness  and  worldliness  shall  tremble  at 
the  manifest  presence  of  the  Lord  ! 

Secondly,  let  the  whole  world-field  be 
mapped  out,  divided  and  distributed  among 
the  evangelical  denominations  of  Christen- 
dom. To  prevent  waste  and  friction,  and 
apparent  division  of  forces  in  the  face  of  a 
gigantic  and  united  foe,  let  right  of  prior- 
ity be  conceded  to  those  who  are  already 
working  successfully  in  any  field,  and  let  the 
one   purpose   and    motto   be   occupation   of 


MEETING    THE   CRISIS.  353 

fields  now  destitute,  and  the  speedy  evange- 
lization of  the  world.  Let  there  be  a  careful 
adjustment  of  the  boundaries  of  each  field, 
and  agreement  as  to  the  principles  of  mu- 
tual co-operation  and  comity. 

The  monks  of  the  Middle  Ages,  who  went 
forth  in  companies  of  twelve,  electing  one  of 
their  number  as  captain,  taking  possession  of 
the  regions  beyond  for  Christ,  set  us  all  a 
grand  example ;  and  inspired  by  Judson 
Smith's  enthusiasm,  the  Oberlin  band  was 
recently  formed  upon  this  principle,  and  have 
gone  forth  to  occupy  the  province  of  Shen- 
Si,  in  China. 

Thirdly,  let  there  be  a  proper  distribution 
of  the  forces,  so  as  to  use  all  workmen  as 
economically  as  possible.  It  is  a  shame  to 
us  not  to  husband  all  our  resources,  where 
the  demand  and  the  supply  are  so  dispro- 
portionate. As  others  have  magnanimously 
retired  from  Turkey,  leaving  the  American 
Board  to  concentrate  its  energies  on  that 
field;  as  Syria  and  Siam  are  left  mainly  to 
American  Presbyterians,  and  Egypt  to  the 
23 


354         THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

United  Presbyterians :  so,  where  any  existing 
missionary  force  is  adequate  to  the  work,  let 
others  retire  from  the  field  and  go  to  some 
other,  unprovided  for.  Above  all,  let  there 
be  no  strife  between  those  who  are  brethren, 
but  let  a  magnanimous  charity  abound.  We 
are  not  sure  that  it  would  not  be  wise  and 
practicable  to  appoint  a  general  board  of 
supervision  and  control,  representing  va- 
rious co-operating  bodies  of  Christians,  and 
having  power  to  act  in  their  behalf  What  is 
desirable  is,  that  in  some  way  all  unoccupied 
territory  shall  be  assigned  to  those  who  shall 
feel  responsible  for  it,  and  that  those  who 
supervise  the  work  shall  thoroughly  under- 
stand the  needs  and  comparative  claims  of 
each  part  of  the  wide  field,  and  act  with 
integrity,  impartiality,  and  charity.  Why  not, 
in  these  days  of  business  schemes  that  are 
colossal  in  capital,  magnificent  in  plan,  and 
world-wide  in  their  extent,  —  why  not  under- 
take the  King's  business  as  something  that 
requires  haste,  and  should  summon  to  its 
prompt  prosecution  every  loyal  disciple ! 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

A  world's  missionary  council. 


HE  suggestions,  modestly  put  before 
the  great  brotherhood  of  fellow- 
disciples,  by  one  comparatively 
obscure  believer,  in  the  preceding  pages,  are 
a  simple  but  earnest  contribution  to  the  solu- 
tion of  the  greatest  problem  ever  submitted 
to  the  church  of  God.  However  crude  they 
may  seem,  they  are  the  result  of  a  quarter 
of  a  century  of  constant  thought  and  study 
upon  the  missionary  problem.  In  part,  they 
have  already  been  put  into  print  In  fragmen- 
tary forms,  from  time  to  time,  and  have  been 
met  with  friendly  discussion  and  cordial  ap- 
probation from  others  who  are  interested  in 
the  same  great  end,  the  evangelization  of  the 
world. 


356  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

The  proposition  of  a  World-Council  has 
especially  been  received  with  wide  and 
emphatic  favor.  For  example,  a  beloved 
representative  of  the  great  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,^  echoing  the  need  of  complete 
and  "  thorough  organization,  and  of  one 
great,  all-comprehensive  plan  and  purpose, 
and  of  persistent,  concerted,  and  concentred 
movements  and  assaults  upon  the  strongholds 
of  the  powers  of  darkness,"  suggests  that 
such  a  world's  missionary  congress  be  called, 
that  it  be  composed  of  delegates  both  from 
the  ministry  and  the  membership  of  the 
churches,  representatives  known  to  be  un- 
usually wise,  pious,  and  missionary-spirited ; 
that  they  be  clothed  with  authority  to  act 
and  vote  according  as  their  own  wisdom  and 
the  manifest  leadings  of  the  providence  and 
Spirit  of  God  may  dictate;  and  that  similar 
workers  from  all  the  fields  of  mission  work 
give  such  congress  the  benefit  of  their  pres- 
ence, experience,  and  counsels.  He  further 
suggests   that  such   delegates   be  chosen    at 

1  Rev.  J.  M.  Driver.     Missionary  Review,  VIII.  464. 


A    WORLD'S  MISSIONARY  COUNCIL.   357 

least  one  year  in  advance  of  the  assembling 
of  the  Council,  and  that  similar  councils 
might  follow  at  longer  or  shorter  intervals  of 
from  one  to  five  years,  as  the  exigencies  of 
the  work  might  require. 

From  none  of  the  friends  of  missions,  how- 
ever, have  more  enthusiastic  responses  come 
than  from  Mr.  Robert  Arthington,  of  Leeds, 
England,  who  has  been  so  liberal  in  his  bene- 
factions to  missions,  especially  in  Africa.  In 
personal  letters,  both  to  Rev.  R.  G.  Wilder, 
editor  of  the  "  Missionary  Review,"  and  to  the 
author  of  this  volume,  he  expresses  his  warm 
and  hearty  approval  of  the  proposition  of  a 
World-Council.     He  writes  as  follows :  — 

"  The  Church  Missionary  Society  of  London 
has  lately  held  a  large  number  of  open  meetings 
simultaneously  over  England,  to  promote  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise.  At  one  of  these  meetings,  on 
February  ii,  1886,  I  moved  the  following  reso- 
lution, promotive  of  universal  evangelization  :  — 

RESOLUTION. 

**  '  This  meeting,  deeply  sensible  that  far  greater 
missionary  effort  is  needed  in  order  to  fulfil  the 


358         THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

parting  command  of  Christ  to  His  disciples, 
resolves  that  the  time  has  come  to  map  out  the 
whole  world  in  portions,  in  its  heathen  parts,  and 
allot  it  amongst  all  missionary  societies,  —  whose 
aim  it  is  to  give  a  whole  Bible  to  a  whole  people, 
—  thus  enlarging  the  fields  already  occupied,  and 
giving  new  spheres  to  each  society,  so  as  to  cover 
the  entire  globe. 

"  *  And  further  it  is  resolved,  that  a  request  be 
sent  from  this  meeting  to  the  committee  of  the 
society  originating  these  conferences,  asking  that 
they  will  confer  with  the  various  missionary  so- 
cieties in  Europe  and  America,  with  a  view  thus 
to  map  out  the  world,  and  devise,  by  mutual 
suggestion,  a  plan  for  general  adoption."' 

He  further  says,  emphasizing  the  matter  as 
one  deserving  very  prayerful  consideration : 

"  I  feel  quite  sure  that  good  to  all  eternity 
must  come  of  this  movement.  Would  not  the 
occupation  of  the  whole  world  simply  for  evangel- 
ization by  the  Word  of  God  be  greatly  to  His 
glory  ?  I  judge  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  make 
prayerfully  the  proposed  apportionment  of  the 
unevangelized  parts  of  the  world.  .  .  .  If  we  do 
not  attain  all  we  could  desire,  it  would  be  a  great 
advance  to  have  made  the  apportionment.     Who 


A    WORLD'S  MISSIONARY  COUNCIL,    359 

can  doubt  that  the  plan,  if  accepted  and  carried 
out,  would  lead  to  an  amazing  increase  of  mission- 
ary effort  and  success  !  Any  one  might  still  be 
free  to  preach  the  gospel  in  any  part  of  the 
world ;  but  for  economy  of  time,  strength,  money, 
and  forces,  all  might  be  entreated  not  to  establish 
missions  in  parts  assigned  to  others  and  occupied 
by  them.  I  shall  be  glad  to  assist  in  counsel  and 
correspondence." 

As  this  is  a  utilitarian  age,  and  the  ques- 
tion will  be  asked,  whether  any  good  would 
be  likely  to  come  of  such  a  World-Council, 
not  equally  to  be  secured  by  existing  agen- 
cies, we  venture  to  add,  that  certain  results 
of  the  highest  importance  would  be  almost 
certain  to  follow. 

1.  First  of  all,  the  very  spectacle  of  the 
gathering  of  the  representatives  of  evangeli- 
cal Christendom,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  the 
speedy  evangelization  of  the  world,  would 
exceed  in  sublimity  any  event  from  Pente- 
cost until  now.  It  would  awaken  joy  in 
heaven  as  well  as  in  earth. 

2.  It  would  mass  the  great  facts  of  missions 
as  they  have  never  been  massed  before.    The 


36o  THE   CRISIS   OF  MISSIONS. 

testimony  would  be  so  universal,  as  to  be 
irresistible  in  its  cumulative  force.  The 
members  of  the  Council,  overwhelmed  by 
the  witness  from  the  world-wide  fields,  would 
return  to  their  homes  to  scatter  the  holy  fire, 
—  to  diffuse  information,  to  arouse  the  Church 
to  its  responsibility,  and  to  kindle  inspiring 
and  contagious  enthusiasm.  The  press  would 
be  called  into  requisition  to  multiply  and 
scatter  the  reports  and  proceedings,  and  the 
Council  would  have  a  trumpet-voice  whose 
echoes  would  be  heard  round  the  world. 

3.  We  might  look  for  results  of  the  highest 
practical  value  in  the  proper  distribution  and 
apportionment  of  laborers,  and  the  prompt 
occupation  of  every  part  of  the  field.  A  holy 
emulation  would  take  the  place  of  sectarian 
rivalry.  The  assignment  of  particular  fields 
to  particular  denominations,  and  even  to  in- 
dividual churches,  would  intensify  interest 
and  quicken  the  sense  of  responsibility.  A 
practical,  economical  mode  of  administration 
would  commend  itself  to  business  men,  and 
it  would  bring  ampler  contributions  to  God's 


A    WORLD'S  MISSIONARY  COUNCIL.    Z6l 

treasury.     Men  and  women  would  be   more 
ready  to  offer  themselves  to  the  work. 

4.  The  impression  of  substantial  Christian 
unity  would  be  invaluable,  both  in  quickening 
our  home  co-operation  and  in  promoting  the 
success  of  our  missionary  labors.  As  Mac- 
aulay  says,  "  Where  heathen  unite  to  worship 
a  cow,  the  differences  between  Christian  sects 
dwindle  into  insignificance."  It  is  the  re- 
proach of  missions  that  several  denominations 
are  needlessly  occupying  the  same  fields, 
while  other  fields  have  not  a  missionary  of 
any  sort. 

5.  Best  of  all,  we  should  confidently  expect 
the  Lord  himself  to  acknowledge  such  a 
council  of  disciples  by  a  new  effusion  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  Two  results  would  be  involved 
in  this, —  a  spirit  of  prayer  for  missions,  and 
a  spirit  of  personal  consecration  to  the  work. 
Without  these,  all  our  methods  and  measures 
are  but  so  much  machinery  without  an  ade- 
quate motor.  We  are  deeply  and  unalter- 
ably persuaded  that  the  whole  progress  and 
success  of  the  work  of  missions  depend  upon 


362  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS, 

a  wide-spread,  radical  revival  of  primitive 
piety.  There  is  too  little  prayer,  and  hence 
too  little  of  the  power  that  comes  by  prayer. 
Give  us  Elijah  with  his  face  between  his 
knees,  in  seven-fold  supplication,  and  we 
shall  have  the  cloud  like  a  man's  hand, 
and  then  an  overspread  jsky  and  a  mighty 
rain. 

In  the  summer  of  1885  there  was  issued 
by  the  Convention  of  Believers  at  Northfield, 
Mass.,  an  appeal  to  fellow-disciples  to  engage 
in  concerted  prayer.  It  was  printed  in  cir- 
cular form,  and  sent  far  and  wide.  It  has 
found  its  way  to  every  part  of  the  world  by 
the  aid  of  the  million-tongued  press.  This 
year,  at  the  Summer  School  for  Students  held 
at  Mount  Hermon,  Mass.,  where  nearly  three 
hundred  young  men  from  about  one  hundred 
colleges  gathered  for  four  weeks  of  prayer 
and  Bible  study,  the  spirit  of  missions  was 
marvellously  poured  out  Early  in  the  meet- 
ings it  became  evident  that  a  new  and  strange 
influence  was  at  work  from  above.  There 
had   been  perhaps  a  score  of  those   young 


A    WORLD'S  MISSIONARY  COUNCIL.   363 

brethren  who  came  on  the  ground  with  the 
mission  field  in  view.  But  when,  on  August 
1st,  the  farewell  meeting  was  held,  one  hun- 
dred of  those  students  had  consecrated  their 
lives  to  the  work  of  missions,  and  had  chosen 
four  of  their  number  systematically  to  visit 
the  colleges  of  the  land  and  seek  to  enkindle 
a  holy  zeal  for  the  work  of  a  world's  evangel- 
ization. Those  who  were  present  at  both 
the  Convention  of  1885  and  the  Summer 
School  of  1886  were  constrained  to  say,  *'  This 
is  the  finger  of  God."  It  was  obviously  the 
work  of  no  man,  but  of  His  Holy  Spirit; 
the  prayers  which  for  a  year  have  been 
ascending  to  God  from  disciples  of  every 
name,  for  a  new  effusion  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
are  beginning  to  be  visibly  and  gloriously 
answered. 

In  view  of  all  these  facts,  and  in  hope  and 
faith  of  wider  co-operation  among  praying 
beUevers,  and  a  more  general  and  sympathetic 
union  and  communion  in  believing  supplica- 
tion directed  to  this  great  end,  we  bring  this 
little  volume  to  a  fitting  close  by  appending 


364  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

to  these  chapters  a  copy  of  the  Appeal, 
beHeving  that  nothing  but  such  a  new  out- 
pouring of  the  Spirit  in  answer  to  prayer  will 
enable  the  church  of  Christ  properly  to  meet 

The  Crisis  of  Missions. 


A  WORD  SUPPLEMENTARY. 


|S  the  missionary  voice  which  sounded 
from  Northfield  last  year  has  re- 
sounded in  so  many  echoes,  we  give 

it  a  new  chance  to  be  heard,  by  the  humble 

aid  of  this  book. 

AN  APPEAL  TO  DISCIPLES  EVERYWHERE. 
Issued  by  the  Northfield  Convention. 

To  Fellow-belirjcrs  of  every  name,  scattered  throughout  the 
worlds  Greeting: 

Assembled  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  with  one  accord,  in  one  place,  we  have 
continued  for  ten  days  in  prayer  and  supplication, 
communing  with  one  another  about  the  common 
salvation,  the  blessed  hope,  and  the  duty  of  wit- 
nessing to  a  lost  world. 

It  was  near  to  our  place  of  meeting  that,  in 
1747,  at   Northampton,  Jonathan    Edwards  sent 


366  THE   CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

forth  his  trumpet-peal,  calling  upon  disciples 
everywhere  to  unite  in  prayer  for  an  effusion  of 
the  Spirit  upon  the  whole  habitable  globe.  That 
summons  to  prayer  marks  a  new  era  and  epoch 
in  the  history  of  the  church  of  God.  Praying 
bands  began  to  gather  in  this  and  other  lands  ; 
mighty  revivals  of  rehgion  followed  ;  immorality 
and  infidelity  were  wonderfully  checked  ;  and, 
after  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years  of  apathy 
and  lethargy,  the  spirit  of  missions  was  re- 
awakened. In  1784,  the  monthly  concert  was 
begun,  and  in  1792  the  first  missionary  society 
formed  in  England;  in  1793,  William  Carey,  the 
pioneer  missionary,  sailed  for  India.  Since  then, 
one  hundred  missionary  boards  have  been  organ- 
ized, and  probably  not  less  than  one  hundred 
thousand  missionaries,  including  women,  have 
gone  forth  into  the  harvest-field.  The  Pillar  has 
moved  before  these  humble  laborers,  and  the  two- 
leaved  gates  have  opened  before  them,  until  the 
whole  world  is  now  accessible.  The  ports  and 
portals  of  Pagan,  Moslem,  and  even  Papal  lands 
are  now  unsealed,  and  the  last  of  the  hermit 
nations  welcomes  the  missionary.  Results  of 
missionary  labor  in  the  Hawaiian  and  Fiji  Islands, 
in  Madagascar,  in  Japan,  probably  have  no  par- 
allel even  in  apostolic  days;  while  even  Pentecost 
is  surpassed  by  the  ingathering  of  ten  thousand 


A    WORD  SUPPLEMENTARY.         367 

converts  in  one  mission  station  in  India  within 
sixty  days,  in  the  year  1878.  The  missionary 
bands  had  scarce  compassed  the  walls  and 
sounded  the  gospel  trumpet,  when  those  walls 
fell,  and  we  have  but  to  march  straight  on  and 
take  possession  of  Satan's  strongholds. 

God  has  thus,  in  answer  to  prayer,  opened  the 
door  of  access  to  the  nations.  Out  of  the  Pillar 
there  comes  once  more  a  voice,  "  Speak  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  that  they  go  forward.'* 
And  yet  the  church  of  God  is  slow  to  move  in 
response  to  the  providence  of  God.  Nearly  a 
thousand  millions  of  the  human  race  are  yet 
without  the  gospel  ;  vast  districts  are  wholly 
unoccupied.  So  few  are  the  laborers,  that,  if 
equally  dividing  responsibility,  each  must  care  for 
at  least  one  hundred  thousand  souls.  And  yet 
there  is  abundance  of  both  men  and  means  in  the 
church  to  give  the  gospel  to  every  living  soul 
before  this  century  closes.  If  but  ten  millions, 
out  of  four  hundred  millions  of  nominal  Chris- 
tians, would  undertake  such  systematic  labor  as 
that  each  one  of  that  number  should,  in  the 
course  of  the  next  fifteen  years,  reach  one  hun- 
dred other  souls  with  the  gospel  message,  the 
whole  present  population  of  the  globe  would  have 
heard  the  good  tidings  by  the  year  1900  ! 

Our  Lord's  own  words  are,  '•  Go  ye,  therefore, 


368  THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 

and  disciple  all  nations  ; "  and,  "  This  gospel  of 
the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world 
for  a  witness  unto  all  nations  ;  and  then  shall  the 
end  come."  Peter  exhorts  us  both  to  "look  for 
and  hasten  the  coming  of  the  day  of  God  ; "  and 
what  if  our  inactivity  delays  His  coming  ?  Christ 
is  waiting  to  "  see  of  the  travail  of  His  soul ;  '^ 
and  we  are  impressed  that  two  things  are  just 
now  of  great  importance  :  first,  the  immediate 
occupation  and  evangelization  of  every  destitute 
district  of  the  earth's  population  ;  and,  secondly, 
a  new  effusion  of  the  Spirit  in  answer  to  united 
prayer. 

If  at  some  great  centre  like  London  or  New 
York,  a  great  council  of  evangelical  believers 
could  meet,  to  consider  the  wonder-working  of 
God's  providence  and  grace  in  mission  fields,  and 
how  fields  now  unoccupied  may  be  insured  from 
further  neglect,  and  to  arrange  and  adjust  the 
work  so  as  to  prevent  needless  waste  and  friction 
among  workmen,  it  might  greatly  further  the 
glorious  object  of  a  world's  evangelization  ;  and 
we  earnestly  commend  the  suggestion  to  the 
prayerful  consideration  of  the  various  bodies  of 
Christian  believers,  and  the  various  missionary 
organizations.  What  a  spectacle  it  would  present 
both  to  angels  and  men,  could  believers  of  every 
name,  forgetting  all  things  in  which  they  differ, 


A    WORD  SUPPLEMENTARY.         369 

meet,  by  chosen  representatives,  to  enter  sys- 
tematically and  harmoniously  upon  the  work  of 
sending  forth  laborers  into  every  part  of  the 
world-field  ! 

But,  above  all  else,  our  immediate  and  impera- 
tive need  is  a  new  spirit  of  earnest  and  prevailing 
prayer.  The  first  Pentecost  crowned  ten  days  of 
united,  continued  supplication.  Every  subsequent 
advance  may  be  directly  traced  to  believing 
prayer,  and  upon  this  must  depend  a  new  Pente- 
cost. We  therefore  earnestly  appeal  to  all  fellow- 
disciples  to  join  us  and  each  other  in  importunate 
daily  supplication  for  a  new  and  mighty  effusion 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  all  ministers,  mission- 
aries, evangelists,  pastors,  teachers,  and  Christian 
workers,  and  upon  the  whole  earth  ;  that  God 
would  impart  to  all  Christ's  witnesses  the  tongues 
of  fire,  and  melt  hard  hearts  before  the  burning 
message.  It  is  not  by  might  nor  by  power,  but  by 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  that  all  true  success  must 
be  secured.  Let  us  call  upon  God  till  He 
answereth  by  fire  !  What  we  are  to  do  for  the 
salvation  of  the  lost  must  be  done  quickly  ;  for 
the  generation  is  passing  away,  and  we  with  it. 
Obedient  to  our  marching  orders,  let  us  "go  into 
all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature,"  while  from  our  very  hearts  we  pray, 
*'  Thy  kingdom  come." 


370 


THE  CRISIS  OF  MISSIONS. 


Grace,  mercy,  and  peace  be  with  you  all. 
Done    in    convention     at    Northfield,     Mass., 
August  14,  1885,  D.  L.  Moody  presiding. 


Arthur  T.  Pierson,  Philadelphia,  Presby- 
terian, Chairman. 

A.  J.  Gordon,  Boston,  Baptist. 

L.  W.  MuNHALL,  Indianapolis,  Methodist. 

Geo.  F.  Pentecost,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  Con- 
gregationalist. 

Wm.  Ashmore,  Missionary  to  Swatow, 
China,  Baptist. 

J.  E.  Studd,  London,  England,  Church  of 
England. 

Miss  E.  Dryer,  Chicago  Avenue  Church, 
Chicago. 


•   Committee. 


University  Press:   John  Wilson  &  Son,  Cambridge. 


BOOKS    ON    MISSIONS 

PUBLISHED    BY 

EOBEET  OAETEE  AND  BROTHEES,  NEW  YOEK 


AMONG     THE     TURKS.      By  Cyrus  Hamlin,  D.D. 

121110.      ^1.50. 

•'  As  a  contribution  to  the  literature  of  missions,  as  a  portraiture  of 
picturesque  scenes  and  romantic  incidents  in  a  strange  land,  and  as  a 
novel  and  interesting  narrative,  it  possesses  equal  value."  —  Congrega- 
tionalist. 

"  He  knows  how  to  tell  a  story  capitally."  — Harper's  Magazine. 

OUR    LIFE    IN    CHINA.      By  Helen  S.  C.  Nevius. 

i2mo.     ;?i.oo. 
"We  have  lingered  over  this  book  lovingly."  —  Scottish  American. 

FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

A  Memoir  of  Dr.  Goodell.      By  Dr.  Prime,     tamo.     31.50. 

"It  would  be  saying  very  little  of  this  volume  to  call  it  a  readable 
one.  It  is  much  more,  —  really  fascinating  and  most  instructive  at  the 
same  time"  —  Lutheran  Quarterly. 

MISSIONARY    PAPERS.     By  John  C.  Lowrie,  D.D. 

i2mo.     31.50. 

TWELVE    MONTHS    IN    MADAGASCAR.      By 

Dr.  Mullens.     i2mo.    3i-75. 

FORTY    YEARS     IN     POLYNESIA.      By  Rev.  A. 
W.  Murray.     i2mo.    32.50. 

FOUR   YEARS    IN    ASHANTEE.      By  Ramseyer 
and  Kuhne.     i2mo.    3i-75. 

THE    WEAVER    BOY:    Dr.   Livingstone.       i6mo. 
3r.25. 

MASTER  MISSIONARIES.    By  Dr.  Japp.    ^r.oo. 


Date  Due 

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